WINE REVIEW
IEWA 2024 Still Trophy Winner
Skin contact wines really triumphed in the IEWA this year, and if Vagabond’s Night Tripper is the engaging opening act, Solena is the excitable, frenzied encore.
This is Ortega, supercharged, turbo-boosted and then given time to consider its quite vast existence. Solena is blended from a barrel Solera system, and this 003 edition is composed of 2023, 2022, 2021 and 2018 vintages.
The wine is unfined and unfiltered and has a colour and complexion that looks quite unlike any other wine I have tried. But it’s an absolute knock-out release!
The nose is complex and heady: orange, grapefruit and dried yuzu, then ripe peach, smoke and incense as well as aged dry black tea.
The palate is no less engaging, with its fusion of spiced peach and dried citrus peels. There’s such a depth and concentration to the fruit, but it’s the interweaved textures of tannin and spice that really leave an impression.
