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Boris· 101 Bar
Castello di Solicchiata
Solicchiata
2012
3.9
Region
Italy › Sicily › IGP Terre Siciliane
Type
red · still
Grapes
Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc
Alcohol
14.5%
Volume
750 mL
Tasting Notes(1)
3.9
Oof - harsh would be putting it mildly. An old-school, very Bordeaux-styled beast: dark berries, plum, coffee, balsamic herbs, menthol, incense. Dry, full-bodied, ripe, and unapologetic on the palate, powerful and tannic, drying through the finish. Fourteen years in and still this much grip - whether cellar time eventually softens it or this is simply how the wine sits is an open question. Solicchiata are notoriously slow developers, so I lean toward more time being the answer, but not without doubt.
About
Solicchiata is the estate's flagship Bordeaux blend, drawn from the original 1855 plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot on volcanic terraces between 800 and 1,000 metres on Etna's western flank. The grapes are destemmed and lightly crushed, given a short five-day pre-fermentative maceration and then fermented 20-30 days in neutral oak vats; each variety is matured separately for at least two years in French oak barrique (Allier and Troncais) before blending, and the assembled wine then rests for four to six more years in bottle before release. The estate philosophy treats time as a structural ingredient - Arnaldo Spitaleri points to the iron and manganese in the volcanic soils as the reason the wines need it - so this 2012 was already a deliberately delayed current release when it reached the market, austere and slow-developing in the antique Etna-Bordeaux mould the house has defended since the 19th century.