Sangiovese w/ Cabernet Sauvignon & Cabernet Franc
JAMES SUCKLING 95 POINTS - "A youthful wine with aromas of esters, strawberries, red cherries, violets, roses, licorice and toast. The palate is gorgeous, with ripe, vibrant and velvety tannins, tight-knit acidity, a medium to full body and a crisp, super-savory finish. Drinkable now, but best in [2026/2027]."
Tenuta Tignanello is a modern-day jewel in the collection of estates owned by the centuries-old Marchesi Antinori wine company. While the estate is world-famous for its eponymous Tignanello bottling, their winemaking prowess also shows in the more down-to-earth "2nd label," the "Marchese Antinori" Chianti Classico Riserva. Since it lies in the historic Chianti hill-country, it's appropriate that the estate makes a wine that so readily shows off that region's famous qualities.
Their Chianti Classico Riserva, like Tignanello, is a bit of a departure from the old ways, and it's what helped make the Antinori name famous worldwide. Their signature style starts with the partnering of native Sangiovese with around a 10% contribution from the French varieties Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Sangiovese brings the mouthwatering vibrancy and warm, earthy tones; Cabernet Sauvignon brings in a textural sleekness and cooling balsam herb aromas; and a little Merlot adds a touch more fleshiness and round, plummy fruit tones. Another Antinori signature is aging their wine in small French oak barrels, something that wasn't done with Sangiovese-driven wines before Tignanello. It's expertly done here, enhancing the woodsy spice complexity and adding a light polish to the mouthfeel, making it even more enticing to enjoy soon!
What ultimately puts this wine on our "must-buy" list is the wonderful 2021 vintage that nature provided! Marchesi Antinori considers it to be among the best they've had, and it's clear they took advantage of it not only for Tignanello, but also this brilliant Chianti Classico Riserva! It's beautifully expressive with just a little time in the glass, with floral, fruit, earth and spice notes mingling in harmony. It's full-bodied, and swathed in ripe tones, reflecting the warm hills of the Val di Pesa, but imbued with a vivacious, mouthwatering inner energy and mineral sensations that extend into the persistent finish.
JAMES SUCKLING 95 POINTS - "A youthful wine with aromas of esters, strawberries, red cherries, violets, roses, licorice and toast. The palate is gorgeous, with ripe, vibrant and velvety tannins, tight-knit acidity, a medium to full body and a crisp, super-savory finish. Drinkable now, but best in [2026/2027]."
Tenuta Tignanello is a modern-day jewel in the collection of estates owned by the centuries-old Marchesi Antinori wine company. While the estate is world-famous for its eponymous Tignanello bottling, their winemaking prowess also shows in the more down-to-earth "2nd label," the "Marchese Antinori" Chianti Classico Riserva. Since it lies in the historic Chianti hill-country, it's appropriate that the estate makes a wine that so readily shows off that region's famous qualities.
Their Chianti Classico Riserva, like Tignanello, is a bit of a departure from the old ways, and it's what helped make the Antinori name famous worldwide. Their signature style starts with the partnering of native Sangiovese with around a 10% contribution from the French varieties Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Sangiovese brings the mouthwatering vibrancy and warm, earthy tones; Cabernet Sauvignon brings in a textural sleekness and cooling balsam herb aromas; and a little Merlot adds a touch more fleshiness and round, plummy fruit tones. Another Antinori signature is aging their wine in small French oak barrels, something that wasn't done with Sangiovese-driven wines before Tignanello. It's expertly done here, enhancing the woodsy spice complexity and adding a light polish to the mouthfeel, making it even more enticing to enjoy soon!
What ultimately puts this wine on our "must-buy" list is the wonderful 2021 vintage that nature provided! Marchesi Antinori considers it to be among the best they've had, and it's clear they took advantage of it not only for Tignanello, but also this brilliant Chianti Classico Riserva! It's beautifully expressive with just a little time in the glass, with floral, fruit, earth and spice notes mingling in harmony. It's full-bodied, and swathed in ripe tones, reflecting the warm hills of the Val di Pesa, but imbued with a vivacious, mouthwatering inner energy and mineral sensations that extend into the persistent finish.
