Antinori Tignanello 2021

Tignanello is, even among Italy’s storied Supertuscans, in a class of its own, honouring regional tradition while looking towards the future. The long history of the wine begins in 1385, with the admission of the patriarch Giovanni di Piero Antinori to the Florentine guild of winemakers. With the winery now under the ownership of the twenty-sixth generation, the Antorini family could be forgiven for resting on its laurels; instead, it has continued to innovate, setting the standards for ultra-premium Tuscan winemaking. Tignanello itself is the jewel in the Antorini family’s crown, and is one of the most coveted wines worldwide. Its history is one of firsts – Tignanello was the first wine to blend Tuscany’s indigenous Sangiovese grape, the variety behind Chianti, Brunello and Nobile di Montepulciano, with the French Cabernet Sauvignon, and the first Tuscan wine to be aged in small oak barriques. The vineyard from which it takes its name sits between 350 and 400 metres above sea level, with limestone soils and a south-westerly exposure proving ideal for viticulture. It is serendipitous that 2021 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the production of Tignanello, as the vintage is described by the winemaker as the greatest he has ever encountered. After a mild winter and cool spring, the estate experienced a warm summer with occasional rainfall, followed by flawless harvest conditions; a high diurnal temperature range helped the grapes achieve the desired level of ripeness by the harvest’s conclusion on October 20. After meticulous hand-sorting, vinification and racking, the wine was transferred into oak barrels (predominantly French, with a small percentage of Hungarian wood) and subsequently blended, before being aged for over two years prior to release.