SOLAIA BY MARQUIS ANTINORI IS ON SALE AT THE PRESTIGIOUS “PLACE DE BORDEAUX”. THE NÉGOCIANTS HAVE ACCEPTED A SMALL SUPPLY OF THE FAMOUS SUPERTUSCAN. THEY HAVE ONLY TWO ITALIAN WINES: SOLAIA (ANTINORI) AND MASSETO (ORNELLAIA ESTATE)

There is another Italian wine in the “elite” of “Place de Bordeaux”, the historic sale managed by the négociants: Solaia by Marquis Antinori, one of the brands of the “renaissance” of Italian wine in the world, enters the exclusive French club. It does so marrying one of the most important traditions in world wine culture, in what is perhaps its capital. In Bordeaux, in fact, there are two key elements of tradition: the famous classification of 1855 and the system of marketing wines through négociants at the “Place de Bordeaux”.

It is an ancient system, unique in the world, extremely efficient and capable, run by families who have expertise in the field of high quality wines and have handed down the business for many generations. These are the most renowned wines in the world and starting from September 7, 2010 Solaia vintage 2007 will be included, along with Masseto of the Ornellaia Estate which has been entered for a couple of years.

Solaia is an esteemed wine and its brand is extraordinarily reliable. The meticulous work of the négociants (who, however, will manage a small part of global assignments) has shown that Solaia is perfectly matched in style to the great Bordeaux wines and this guarantees more distribution prospects, new niche markets and consolidation of the image of Solaia in the world.

In 2000, Solaia, top among Italian wines, was judged the best wine in the world by “Wine Spectator” magazine. The 2007 vintage, which inaugurated collaboration with the négociants of Bordeaux, was given a score of 97/100 by global wine guru Robert Parker. Solaia can be considered one of the best examples of the excellent results that can be achieved when you can experiment and take risks. Piero Antinori “invented” it in 1978. That year, the production of Cabernet, intended for Antinori’s Tignanello, was so incredibly exceptional that Piero Antinori decided, after having bottled Tignanello, to try bottling purely the grapes. Maybe it was just a bet or a game, but the result was amazing. The original blend was only Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc grapes, but careful experiments brought them to the actual blend, which along with the two Bordeaux includes Sangiovese grapes. The 2007 vintage of Solaia will have a special anti-counterfeit microchip, to ensure the authenticity of the wine and allow the Marchesi Antinori to maintain full control of the traceability of each bottle.

To date only the U.S. wine Opus One and Almaviva wine from Chile have entered this sale. These two wines, however, have a privileged relationship with Bordeaux, since they were born from a rib of the Bordeaux château Mouton Rothschild, owned by Baron Philippe de Rothschild. Solaia of Marquis Antinori, instead, is a kind of “unicum” and will be joining Masseto of the Ornellaia Estate that entered the sale a couple of years ago. This is a huge and unique breakthrough, which generates a kind of Italian “outpost” in the land of Bordeaux, where two symbols of Made in Italy wine, which are not part of the small circle of Bordeaux owners, have the privilege of being taken in “consignment” by the négociants of the world capital of wine.