2020 Tenuta Tignanello Marchese Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva

A beautiful wine from one of Italy's oldest and most famous wine producers Marchese Antinori. This 'noble' Chianti Classico Riserva comes from the famous Tenuta Tignanello. The Chianti Classico Riserva Marchese Antinori is Sangiovese enriched with notes of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Renzo Cotarella and Marchesi Antinori's extensive technical team work hard to perfect their tannin management, and the wonderful results are evident in this series of new releases of the classic vintage

The 2018 growing season in Chianti Classico started with normal winter weather, both in terms of temperature and rainfall. Despite these climatic conditions, the vines started to break buds a week earlier than the seasonal average in this area. Spring was characterized by frequent rains and temperatures below average, especially in the month of May, while June and July were hot, dry and uninterrupted by extreme heat. Scattered rainfall in the month of August and a dry, windy spell in September and October allowed the grapes to develop to perfect ripeness, ensuring excellent sugar levels and polyphenolic ripeness. Harvesting activities started in mid-September with Sangiovese and were completed in the first half of October with Cabernet.

On arrival in the cellar, the bunches were destemmed and gently crushed: the must was transferred to stainless steel vats where alcoholic fermentation took place for about 1 week. Maceration on the skins was managed with gentle pump-overs and délestage (rack and return) for an intense extraction while preserving elegant and supple tannins. Malolactic fermentation, which took place spontaneously, was completed by the end of the year. The wine was then blended and spent about a year in French and Hungarian oak barriques. Marchese Antinori Riserva was bottled and then bottle-aged for a further twelve months before release.

Located in the heart of the Chianti Classico production zone, nestled between the valleys of the Greve and Pesa rivers, the Tignanello estate extends over nearly 800 hectares (319 hectares), of which about 130 (415 hectares) are planted with vines. The vineyards are mainly made up of the indigenous Sangiovese grape, along with such non-traditional varieties as Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The Marchese Antinori is a historic wine from the Antinori cellars produced since 2011 from the grapes of the Tignanello estate. It is a wine that presents itself as the full expression of the quality and elegance of the Sangiovese from this part of Tuscany.

The Tenuta Tignanello Marchese Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva is ruby ​​red in color. On the nose intense notes of morello cherries, violets and lavender and light sensations of iron typical of Sangiovese and spicy notes of tobacco and leather; the bouquet is completed by delicate hints of vanilla and cocoa powder. The taste is mouth-filling, generous and lively with excellent compact tannins that give it a long lingering finish. Exceptional finish characterized by red fruit and licorice. Tignanello worthy but less than half the price so an absolute must