Antinori Tignanello IGT Toscana

Description

Antinori Tignanello is the original Super-Tuscan wine, which was first produced in 1971. It is a wine of firsts: it was the first Sangiovese to be aged in small oak barrels, the first red wine in modern times to use a non-traditional grape variety, Cabernet, in the blend, and among the first red wines made in Chianti with no white grapes (after 1975).

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 from the Tenuta Tignanello Estate

Tignanello 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 Marchese Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva, known as Tignanello’s “baby brother”, is also produced at the estate, as is Solaia.

Antinori Tignanello Winemaking

• Tignanello is a blend composed of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc grape varieties.
• Initial fermentation takes place in conical fermenting tanks to begin the winemaking process.
• Malolactic fermentation occurs in 60-gallon oak barrels to enhance the finesse and fragrance of the wine’s aromatic profile.
• The wine is aged for 12-14 months in a combination of French and Hungarian oak barrels, using both new barrels and one-year-old barrels to add complexity.
• Each lot and parcel of grapes is vinified and aged separately to maintain the unique characteristics of different vineyard blocks.
• After separate ageing, the various lots are blended to create the final Tignanello blend.
• The blended wine undergoes an additional 2 months of bottle ageing before being released to market.

The Tignanello Wine Label

The Antinori Tignanello wine label was designed by Silvio Coppola in 1974 for that first vintage of 1971. Coppola was an important Italian graphic and interior designer who was famous for his minimalist lighting fixtures and austere furniture, but also for book cover designs for the Italian publishing company Feltrinelli. His label features a stylised image of the Tuscan “Sun”. The label also features the Antinori family crest and Nicolo Antinori’s signature.