Solaia 2017 Tuscan IGT Antinori Jeroboam Wooden Case
Winemaker's Notes
2017 will be remembered as an unusual vintage in its course, marked by low production and generally dry weather. It is in vintages like this that experience and knowledge of the vineyard play an even more crucial role. If the 2016 is shy and introverted, Solaia 2017 tells its own story from the start through its extroverted character. Rich, intense and enveloping, it maintains the elegance and balance that have always characterized the wine's style.
Climate
2017 will be remembered as an unusual vintage in its course. The winter, characterized only in January by weather that tended to be cold, continued with mild temperatures favoring the early budding of the vines. The sudden drop in temperatures that occurred in late April generated a slight drop in production. From May through August, the Chianti Classico area experienced generally warm and dry weather, with daily temperatures often above 30°C. Rainfall in September partly rebalanced the summer stress, allowing the grapes to reach good ripeness. Harvesting took place from September 20 to October 6.
Vinification
Great care was taken, both in the vineyard during harvest and in the winery, where the grapes were destemmed and the berries, before being gently crushed, carefully sorted at the sorting table and then transferred by gravity to the tanks. It is essential that only the perfect berries arrive in the 60-Hl truncated conical vinification tanks. During fermentation and maceration, also taking into account the particularity of the vintage, attention to maintaining a proper balance between fruit and tannin quality, geared toward sweetness and fragrance, was crucial. Once the skins and wine are separated, malolactic fermentation is initiated, which, in barriques, enhances the complexity and pleasantness of the wine. The aging process takes place in new French oak barrels for about 18 months. After an initial period of aging in separate batches, these are blended to complete the evolution in wood.
