Antinori Solaia Unfiltered Cabernet Sauvignon Sangiovese Cabernet Franc 2006

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Displays loads of mint, eucalyptus, currant and meat on the nose. Full-bodied, with masses of fruit, yet reserved and structured. Mouth-puckering now from all the tannins, but this will give incredible pleasure in years to come. Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese and Cabernet Franc. Best after 2014. JS

Serve this wine between 60-65 degrees Farenheit or 15-18 degrees Celsius.

Complementary recipes:

• Ants Climbing a Tree
• Asian Chicken Salad on Endive Spears
• Autumn Hodge-Podge
• Avocado and Papaya Salad
• Balsamic Grilled Radicchio with Shaved Pecorino
• More recipes...

More pairings:

cheese sandwich: grilled, chicken club sandwich, chocolate: dark, chocolate: dark/almond, fish: barbecued, fish: light fleshed: broiled, lasagna, Mexican dishes, mushrooms: truffles, parmesan, pasta bolognese, pasta with white truffles, pecorino toscana, pizza: Ambrosia, pizza: cheese, pizza: Chicago, pizza: Italian-style, pizza: Neapolitan, pizza: pepperoni/meat, salami toscana, sauce: mushroom, sauce: pungent olives, capers, anchovies, sausage: spicy, spaghetti with bolognese sauce, spaghetti with meat sauce, spaghetti with tomato sauce, steak fajitas, turkey scaloppini, veal escalope layered with smoked ham, veal stuffed with sausage, veal: breaded cutlets. More pairings...

Sangiovese

Sangiovese is indigenous to Tuscany, where is makes Chianti, the flagship wine of the region. Sangiovese is also the primary grape in the wines Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Morellino di Scansano. The quality ranges from ordinary table wine (vino di tavola) to the impressive classico superiore.

Sangiovese represents 10% of Italy’s entire vineyard acreage, the most-planted grape in the country, with 247,000 acres. This grape matures and ripens slowly, and has a thin skin therefore it thrives in warm, dry climates. Limestone soil tends to produce more robust aromas in the finished wine.

Chianti was traditionally a blend of about 70% Sangiovese, 15% of the red grape Canaiolo, 15% of the white grape Trebbiano and sometimes a dash of the red grape Colorino. Today, producers must have a minimum of 90% Sangiovese in their Chianti with no more than 5% white grapes. The white grape Malvasia Toscana, better quality than the traditional Trebbiano, is now also permitted in the blend.

The Latin name for Sangiovese, Sanguis Jovis (San Gioveto), translates to “blood of Jove or Jupiter." The first written reference to the grape was in 1722.

Until the 1980s, Chianti was bottled in squat oval straw-covered fiasci. It was viewed a modest bistro wine rather than one for collectors. Then winemakers started experimenting with premium blends of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot, creating what is now known as Supertuscans. These wines were not permitted the D.O.C. quality designation because they used grapes not permitted by law. However, the wines started commanding prices much higher than the traditional wines and eventually one of the most famous, Sassacia, was granted its own D.O.C. status. However, even today, it can produce cheap, thin wines or remarkably complex and concentrated reds.

In the late 1800s, Italian immigrants planted Sangiovese in California. (I profile the Serghesio family believed to have first planted these vines in my book Red, White and Drunk All Over.) Sangiovese-based wines have never succeeded in New World regions as well as have other transplanted European varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah/Shiraz.

Sangiovese’s signature aromas include black cherries, raspberries, blueberries, violets, black plums, prunes clove, thyme, anise and if oaked, smoke, tar and vanilla. The wine has a medium- to full-body, a supple texture and a pleasant bitter-tinged finish. It also has pronounced acidity, which makes it especially companionable to many Italian dishes with tomato sauce.

Drink Sangiovese with parmesan, pecorino Toscana, turkey scaloppini, pasta Bolognese, spaghetti with tomato or meat sauce, salami Toscana, olives, capers, anchovies, broiled light-fleshed fish (sole), breaded veal cutlets, veal escalope layered with smoked ham, spicy sausage, lasagna, pepperoni pizza and truffles.