Tignanello 2023

The 'Tignanello' Toscana IGT by Marchesi Antinori stands as a global icon of Italian winemaking—the seminal red that revolutionized modern Tuscan viticulture and birthed the Super Tuscan era. First produced as an innovative blend with the 1971 vintage, Tignanello originates from a single 57-hectare vineyard situated on the Tenuta Tignanello estate in Mercatale Val di Pesa (Chianti Classico), perched on southwest-facing limestone marl and 'alberese' slopes at 350–400 meters elevation. It famously broke tradition as the first Sangiovese to be aged in barriques, the first modern red blended with non-traditional Bordeaux varieties, and the first Chianti Classico zone red to eliminate white grapes from the blend.

The classic assemblage—typically 80% Sangiovese, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Cabernet Franc—masterfully bridges the high-altitude tension and savory cherry core of Sangiovese with the architectural structure and dark cassis fruit of Cabernet. Winemaking entails rigorous berry selection, separate parcel fermentations in truncated oak and steel vats, and malolactic conversion directly in barrel. Maturation takes place for approximately 14 to 16 months in French and Hungarian oak barriques (partially new, partially second-passage), followed by a full year of bottle conditioning. Antinori's Tignanello emerges as an aristocratically refined, seamless, and vibrant masterpiece built for multi-decadal evolution.