Intensely fruity and complex on the nose, full-bodied, rich and complex in the mouth with exceptional structure and a lengthy finish.
Blend: 80% Sangiovese, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc
Building on more than 600 years of winemaking history, the Antinori family is something of an Italian winemaking dynasty. The Antinori family has holdings not only across Italy but also around the globe, yet the family’s true home is in Chianti Classico, specifically Tenuta Tignanello, a gently hilly property located between the Greve and Pesa Valleys that the family has owned since the 1800s. This 321-acre estate gets its name — Tignanello — from its most famous vineyard, but its vines grow the grapes for a trio of wines: Marchese Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva, as well as celebrated Super-Tuscan siblings Solaia and Tignanello. When Piero Antinori was searching to add his own voice to the Super-Tuscan revolution in the late 1960s, he turned to Giacomo Tachis, the consulting winemaker behind Sangiovese, as well as Ornellaia. Piero wanted to make wines that reflected his family’s Tuscan heritage, and in 1971, Tignanello, a blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet, and Cabernet Franc, was born. Solaia, or the “sunny one,” a name that reflects its 25-acre sun-drenched vineyard, followed in 1978; and 2011 saw a return to the family’s roots with the release of Marchese Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva, which derives from the Tignanello vineyard. Sporting marly, limestone-rich soils that show remnants of the Pliocene Period when the region was covered in an ocean, Tenuta Tignanello enjoys sunny days, cool nights, and a gentle breeze, ideal conditions for the grapes that make its renowned red trio, as well as its delicious Vinsanto.
