2021 Tignanello, Antinori, Tuscany, Italy

First made in 1971, this legendary Italian wine now celebrates its 50th birthday. Happy Birthday, Tignanello!

The Marchesi Antinori 2021 Tignanello made with 79% Sangiovese, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Cabernet Franc) pulls on all the heartstrings. To be released in May, the wine shows a quintessentially pretty taste profile with tart fruit flavours, redcurrant, tea leaf, heritage rose, crushed white pepper, liquorice, nutmeg, clove and chopped mint. It opens slowly to reveal more richness and exuberance with time, becoming downright voluptuous and heady a short while later. The through line, however, remains the bright freshness and minerality of Sangiovese. Compared to the 2018 vintage which I also loved), this vintage has more overall fruit weight and volume.

The currants and spices are very pretty, with some hazelnut undertones. It is medium—to full-bodied, with juicy tannins and a flavorful finish. It is very structured for a Tignanello, with medium chewy tannins and a flavorful finish. It is very polished and curated, with a deft winemaking hand coming through. Needs three or four years to soften, but it’s all there.

Tignanello is a southwest-facing 57-hectare vineyard on lime-rich soils in San Casciano Val di Pesa. The blend – predominantly Sangiovese with dashes of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc – has remained the same since 1982. Individually vinified in conical vats, with malo in oak barriques, the wines then age in mostly new French oak barrels plus a small percentage of Hungarian oak barrels, for few months before blending and further ageing; around 15 months in total. 

Ripe red and black berries and a herbal waft rise from the glass. Intense, grainy and vertical, it has impressive freshness of both acidity and dark fruits, with streaks of coffee and sous bois, and a sprinkling of peppery spice and dried herbs. The sapidity on the mid-palate combines with a soft, creamy chocolate and black fruit finish to create a deliciously approachable and gastronomic wine that will, of course, repay further ageing.

The 2021 Tignanello is every bit as impressive from bottle as it was from barrel and then just after bottling. Silky and polished, with exceptional finesse, the 2021 has all the pedigree to become a modern benchmark for Tignanello and Italian wine more broadly. Bright dark red fruit, blood orange, spice, cedar and sweet pipe tobacco all soar out of the glass, framed by a discreet touch of French oak that adds raciness. In some vintages, the elements are discernible. In 2021, it is the total harmony of the wine that makes the strongest and deepest impression. 2021 spent 17 months in wood, three months in neutral oak during the malolactic fermentation and then 14 months 50% new) for the rest of its ageing. Superb.