Antinori Tignanello 2017

Tignanello is produced exclusively from the vineyard of the same name, a parcel of some 140 acres (57 hectares) with limestone-rich soils and a southwestern exposure at 1150-1325 feet (350-400 meters) above sea level at the Tignanello estate. It was the first Sangiovese wine to be aged in small oak barrels, the first modern red wine to use such non-traditional varieties as Cabernet in the blend, and among the first red wines from the Chianti Classico area to be produced without white grapes.

The wine called initially Chianti Classico Riserva Vigneto Tignanello (a Chianti Classico Riserva from the Tignanello vineyard), was produced for the first time from a single vineyard parcel in 1970, when the blend contained 20% of Canaiolo and 5% of Trebbiano and Malvasia, both white grapes, and the wine aged in small oak barrels. In 1971, it became a Tuscan red table wine rather than a Chianti Classico and was called Tignanello. In the 1975 vintage, the percentage of white grapes was definitively eliminated from the blend.

Antinori Tignanello is intensely ruby red; Tignanello has exceptional aromatic complexity: notes of ripe red fruit, especially cherries, strawberries, and blackberries, are accompanied by delicate floral hints of violets, mallow blossoms, and roses. Notes of roasted coffee and cocoa powder complete its bouquet. The vibrant entry gives way to a caressing, layered mouthfeel. The wine closes with spicy notes of pepper and licorice that merge with pleasant sensations of aromatic herbs for a fresh, lengthy finish.