Marchese Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva

Description

Marchese Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva is an Italian red wine produced from Antinori’s Tenute Tignanello wine estate. Indeed, this blend of Sangiovese with a little Cabernet Sauvignon is often referred to as Tignanello’s “baby brother” and offers a taste of the famous terroir and craftsmanship and is a superb introduction to the Antinori family’s winemaking philosophy. Buy now at Fareham Wine Cellar.

Antinori: Six Centuries of Winemaking

Marchesi Antinori has been producing wine in Tuscany for six centuries. It was founded in 1385 when Giovanni di Piero Antinori became a member of the “Arte Fiorentina dei Vinattieri”, the Florentine Winemakers’ Guild. The company continues to go from strength to strength 26 generations later. Antinori is probably most famous for producing one of the original Super-Tuscan wines, Tignanello, and has estates throughout Italy (Peppoli in Chianti and Pian delle Vigne in Montalcino) and the rest of the world, including Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars in Napa Valley, USA.

Produced at Tenuta Tignanello

As mentioned above, Marchese Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva is produced exclusively from the family’s 319-hectare Tenuta Tignanello estate, which is located between the Greve and Pesa river valleys in the heart of the Chianti Classico appellation.

The Tignanello vineyard consists of a parcel of some 165 hectares of vineyards planted between 1,150 and 1,312 feet above sea level on limestone-rich soils. The vineyards are planted with Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, with a little Malvasia and Trebbiano used for Vinsanto. As well as this superb Chianti Classico Riserva, the family’s Super-Tuscans Tignanello and Solaia are produced at the estate.

Marchese Antinori Chianti Classico DOCG Riserva

This wine has been made from grapes exclusively from Tenute Tignanello since the 2011 vintage. It is mainly Sangiovese with a small percentage of “complementary varieties”.

Winemaking

• Freshly harvested grapes were destemmed and gently crushed upon arrival in the cellar.
• The must was transferred into stainless steel tanks for alcoholic fermentation, which lasted about one week.
• Very gentle pump overs and délestage techniques were used during maceration on the skins for approximately 10 days to ensure intense extraction while maintaining elegant and supple tannins.
• Malolactic fermentation occurred spontaneously and was completed by the end of the year.
• The wine was blended and aged in French and Hungarian oak barriques for approximately one year.
• Marchese Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva was bottled and aged for an additional 12 months before release.