2016 Tignanello

I can’t say I am surprised by how magnificent the 2021s are at the Antinori family’s Tignanello estate, as the wines were superb from the very beginning. The year featured an unusual set of conditions that gave birth to wines of exquisite finesse. Frost in spring was not materially damaging to the plants, but it did cause a slowdown in vine growth. From there, the season was dry and warm but without excesses. The critical final phase of ripening took place under moderate conditions, which allowed for a long hang time that compensated for the slow start and allowed for full maturation of tannin. Some of that is good fortune. Had the final phase of the year seen excessively warm temperatures, the spring frost would have been a liability. Instead, it turned out to be a positive. Tignanello and Solaia are both marked by extreme elegance that is the result of an optimal growing season and the more refined approach that CEO Renzo Cotarella and his team ushered in with the 2004 vintage. Gentler winemaking, a more refined use of oak in aging and an increase in Cabernet Franc in the wines are among the recent developments here. I can’t recommend these wines highly enough.

Antinori presented some of the most memorable wines I have ever tasted here. The 2021s capture all the pedigree of this great Chianti Classico vintage in their combination of vibrancy, aromatic intensity and fruit. CEO Renzo Cotarella and his two longtime technical directors, Dora Pacciani and Sara Pontremolesi, have moved the wines towards a style that emphasizes more freshness than in the past while dialing down the more opulent side that was once in favor. It’s a significant evolution, one that really makes itself felt in 2021, a vintage that is so well suited to wines of energy. Readers will note the addition of three new single-vineyard Gran Seleziones in the range, wines I have watched grow over the years from young barrel samples into fully finished wines.

“Two thousand-nineteen was a light Sangiovese year,” Antinori CEO Renzo Cotarella explained. “In Chianti Classico, it was mostly a cool year with some rain at the tail end of the season. As a result, we used more Cabernet Sauvignon than normal for Tignanello and bumped up the Franc in Solaia.” Antinori is another winery that has moved away from the high-octane approach of years past. Today’s wines offer plenty of depth, but greater vibrancy as well, something that works so well here, at the Antinori family’s Tignanello estate, home to both Tignanello and Solaia.

“Two thousand-nineteen was a light Sangiovese year,” Antinori CEO Renzo Cotarella explained. “In Chianti Classico, it was mostly a cool year with some rain at the tail end of the season. As a result, we used more Cabernet Sauvignon than normal for Tignanello and bumped up the Franc in Solaia.” Antinori is another winery that has moved away from the high-octane approach of years past. Today’s wines offer plenty of depth, but greater vibrancy as well, something that works so well here, at the Antinori family’s Tignanello estate, home to both Tignanello and Solaia.

CEO Renzo Cotarella and his team continue to move the Antinori wines in the direction of elegance over power. Recent vintages have provided the ideal conditions to do that. Tignanello and Solaia, the family flagships, naturally get most of the attention, but I am increasingly impressed with the entry-level wines, all of which are now made from estate fruit, which is remarkable at these volumes.

Antinori's dual flagships Tignanello and Solaia showed well in my most recent tasting. The wines were both quite a bit more reticent than I expected, but also more vibrant and pure. This is going to be a fascinating vintage to follow at Antinori.

Two thousand sixteen has turned out to be an extraordinary vintage for Antinori. The family's wines in Chianti Classico are off the charts great. At the entry-level, the wines are incredibly delicious and have the added virtue of being made in large quantities, which means readers in many markets around the world will be able to enjoy them. The most improved wine is the Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Badia a Passignano, which now finally tastes like a wine of place, while at the upper end, both Tignanello and Solaia are truly majestic. The 2016s are marked by pure sensuality, with perfectly ripe tannins that feel like they aren't there at all. What a fabulous collection of wines this is.

Two thousand sixteen has turned out to be an extraordinary vintage for Antinori. The family's wines in Chianti Classico are off the charts great. At the entry-level, the wines are incredibly delicious and have the added virtue of being made in large quantities, which means readers in many markets around the world will be able to enjoy them. The most improved wine is the Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Badia a Passignano, which now finally tastes like a wine of place, while at the upper end, both Tignanello and Solaia are truly majestic. The 2016s are marked by pure sensuality, with perfectly ripe tannins that feel like they aren't there at all. What a fabulous collection of wines this is.

This is a stellar set of wines from top to bottom. In the 2015s, readers will find everything from an absolutely delicious Villa Antinori all the way to sublime editions of Tignanello and Solaia, and a number of other options in between. In recent years, the winemaking team headed by Renzo Cotarello has shifted towards a style that seeks more energy and vibrancy in the wines than in the past, something that is very much in evidence in tasting through this range.

Renzo Cotarella and his team of winemakers made a very distinguished set of wines in 2014, led by a Tignanello that is all finesse. Winemaking has gradually moved towards more elegance and nuance at all the Antinori properties in recent years. The 2014s at the family’s Tignanello estate show that intensity, persistence and class are all achievable without the bombastic style that was once all the rage here. The major issue with the 2014s is that production is down 30-40% across the board.

Antinori's new releases are quite representative of their respective vintages. The 2013s are somewhat slender, nervous wines with less of the exuberance that is typical of the house style, while the 2012s are more generous, radiant and immediate. Two thousand fourteen has turned out to be a challenging vintage here, as it was pretty much everywhere in Chianti Classico. In 2014, production for Tignanello (which will also be lower in Sangiovese than is the norm) is down by 40%, while Solaia is down 50%. There will be no Chianti Classico Gran Selezione from Badia a Passignano.

Renzo Cotarella, Antinori's head winemaker, describes 2012 as a dry, hot year with moderating influences from the late season rains in August and September that lowered sugar levels. Alcohols are down around 1% across the board, something that is also felt in the wines' lithe, mid-weight personalities. At the Tignanello estate, the 2012s show some similarities to the 2005s, with perhaps a bit more mid-palate depth.

Readers will find two very different vintages in these new releases from Antinori. The 2011s are the result of a warm, dry season that led to a September harvest, early for this part of Chianti Classico. The dry conditions concentrated the grapes on the vines and yielded powerful, exotic wines that push the outer edge of ripeness. I imagine the 2011s will be superb once they lose some of their baby fat. In 2010, the Sangiovese ripened later, in mid-October, with less stress and no excess concentration. There has always been something magical about 2010 in Tuscany. Antinori's wines are no exception.

Antinori has done a fabulous job with their 2010s. Specifically, the dual flagships Tignanello and Solaia are off the charts in a vintage that is likely to go down as one of the all-time greats for both. I started tasting those wines in the summer of 2011, when the wines were still separate components. A video of that tasting is here. I then tasted the wines last spring in blended form prior to bottling and have since tasted them several times from bottle. Each and every time, I have been blown away by the quality. I think it is fair to say these are some of the greatest wines Antinori has ever made. For more perspective on Antinori and Solaia, readers may want to take a look at this short video shot during a complete vertical of Solaia earlier this year, plus my interviews with Piero Antinori and long-time winemaker Renzo Cotarella. The 2010s promise to be long-lived wines, in the meantime, readers will find much to like in the two 2009 Chianti Classicos being released this year. Lastly, I would be remiss if I did not say something about 2013, a year that so far has been quite wet and humid in Chianti Classico. Growers have had to fight hard against disease. Still, near the Antinori vineyards I saw healthy populations of bees, an array of butterflies and active wildlife, all of which point to viticulture that is quite gentle, which is frankly remarkable for a winery that makes millions of bottles each and every year.

Longtime winemaker Renzo Cotarella has done a fabulous job with the flagships Tignanello and Solaia in 2009. In my blind tastings the pedigree of those two wines in particular came through with notable eloquence. The 2010 Tignanello and Solaia are both thrilling at this stage. They could very well turn out even better than the 2009s. Readers may want to look at my short video on the 2010s from Antinori on our website.

Antinori seems to do everything well these days, from churning out millions of bottles of supermarket wines all the way to turning out superb versions of their many flagship bottlings. This is another impressive set of new releases with a number of highlights. Over the years oenologist Renzo Cotarella has moved away from the super-late harvests of the late 1990s/early 2000s in favor of picking slightly earlier, a decision that has paid off handsomely, especially over the last few years. Antinori's 2008s, from a vintage that is quite inconsistent across the board, are superb. I remember spending a few days near the estate's Tignanello and Badia a Passignano estates in mid-August 2008. The days were very hot, but the nights were so cool that a sweater or light jacket was a necessity.

I continue to be amazed at the high average quality Antinori achieves across a production that exceeds a whopping 20 million bottles per year. This is a fabulous set of new releases. Long-time Oenologist Renzo Cotarella could certainly have rested on his laurels; after all he is already one of Italy's most celebrated winemakers. Instead, Cotarella continues to improve quality in a meaningful way. The highlights are the 2007s, which are off the charts. I first sampled Antinori's 2007 Tignanello and Solaia two years ago, when they were still separate wines from individual parcels, but even then it was clear these were going to be special wines. Tasting Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon from the Tignanello and Solaia vineyards, both in Chianti Classico, was an unforgettable lesson in the uniqueness of each of these fabulous terroirs. The Solaia vineyard in particular is clearly one of Italy's greatest sites. Everything I tasted was loaded with personality and sheer character. One of the recent major changes at Antinori is the separate vinification of component wines for Guado al Tasso, Tignanello and Solaia, which began with the 2004 vintage. In 2007 Cotarella took that approach even further, with small parcel-by-parcel vinifications that allowed for maximum flexibility when the final blend for each wine was ultimately assembled. The 2007 harvest brings with it a number of additional changes. Syrah has been eliminated from Guado al Tasso in favor of Cabernet Franc, a grape that is proving to be exceptionally well-suited to the Tuscan coast. If the 2007 is any indication, Guado al Tasso is taking on a much more Bordeaux-like personality. The estate is also gradually moving toward slightly larger barrels and less new oak for their Sangioveses.

From top to bottom this is a beautiful set of wines from Antinori. The estate's 2006 Guado al Tasso, Tignanello and Solaia are all beautiful, even if they don't appear to possess the elegance of the superb 2004s.

Antinori dealt with the same issues that plagued all estates in 2005. Production was down by 33-50%, depending on the specific site. The wines have aged quite well, which highlights how privileged this hillside estate is.

My recent visit to Antinori's Tignanello property in Chianti Classico provided an object lesson in the challenges of understanding the complexities and nuances of Tuscan terroir, something that can be extrapolated to many other regions within Italy as well. I saw vineyards where the two major terrains in these hills, galestro and alberese, alternated in groups of three to four rows within the very same plot. As a result, vines that were separated by no more than a few meters were at slightly different points in their vegetative cycles, meaning that work in the vineyards must literally proceed on a row by row, and sometimes, plant by plant basis.

Back in the winery, oenologist Renzo Cotarella prepared a comprehensive tasting of Antinori's two flagship wines, Tignanello and Solaia, with vintages going back to 1993, the first vintage he made on his own here. Tignanello is a Sangiovese-based wine with some Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, while its big brother Solaia is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon. The wines are predominantly in French oak although Hungarian and American oak are used as well.

To set the context, we started with the 2007s in their separate component wines, after which we tasted the 2006s in their final blends prior to bottling. Antinori's 2007s are highly promising reds with superb ripeness and rich aromatics. 2007 was a long growing season that culminated with cool nights in the fall. I tasted two Tignanello Sangioveses, both of which were beautiful. The wine from the older vineyard offered greater richness and dark, more balsamic nuances while the wine from the younger vineyard showed a fresher and perhaps slightly more mineral character. The Tignanello Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc were both varietally expressive, with superb richness, well-articulated bouquets and plenty of muscle.

I am convinced the Solaia vineyard is one of the greatest sites in the world for making wine. The same three varieties used in Tignanello take on a whole different voice here with more dramatic, baritone overtones and darker flavor profiles. The Sangiovese was superb and remarkably complete on its own. This sample showed more complexity and freshness than the Sangiovese planted in the Tignanello vineyard. The Cabernet Sauvignon was sweet, layered and intensely perfumed, while the Cabernet Franc showcased notable heft and structure.

Both the 2006 Solaia and Tignanello were impressive as well. This is a decidedly ripe vintage which Cotarella compares to 1997. The 2006 Tignanello (from tank) was packed with jammy, super-ripe fruit and revealed an especially large-scaled, sweeping personality with tons of harmony. The 2006 Solaia (from barrel) was similarly long, sweet and richly-textured, but with the additional level of sheer density and muscle that is such a big part of the wine's character.

The wines from bottle were equally impressive. While most of the wines from important vintages lived up to expectations, I was pleasantly surprised by the extremely positive evolution of the wines from smaller vintages, which proves yet again that quality-minded estates will almost always make a respectable wine, even in lesser years. One of the biggest changes at Antinori in recent years has been a major upgrade in the way the wines are handled in the cellar. 2004 was the first vintage in which the lots for Tignanello and Solaia were aged separately, with the final blend taking place at the end of the aging period, whereas previously the blend had been assembled just after the completion of malolactic fermentation. Given that wines develop and age in ways that sometimes surprise even the most experienced winemakers, waiting until the wines have had a chance to spend some time in barrel leaves the producer with much more certainty as to the quality and consistency of the final wine. In difficult vintages such as 2005 the ability to exclude barrels that have not developed as expected from the final blend can have a profound impact on quality.

My visit to Antinori's Tignanello property in Chianti Classico provided an object lesson in the challenges of understanding the complexities and nuances of Tuscan terroir, something which can be extrapolated to many other regions within Italy as well. I saw vineyards where the two major terrains in these hills, galestro and alberese, alternated in groups of three to four rows within the same plot. As a result, the plants themselves were at slightly different points in their vegetative cycles. Back in the winery, oenologist Renzo Cotarella prepared a comprehensive tasting of Antinori's two flagship wines, Tignanello and Solaia, with vintages going back to the mid-1990s. I will report on those verticals, which include a preview of 2006 and 2007, in an upcoming article that will be published on this site. Both Tignanello and Solaia are outstanding in 2005. Readers may recall my enthusiasm over the 2004s. Of course the vintage was exceptional, but it is no accident that those wines were so successful. 2004 was the first vintage in which the lots for these wines were aged separately, with the final blend taking place at the end of the aging period, whereas previously the blend had been assembled just after the completion of malolactic fermentation. Given that wines develop and age in ways that sometimes surprise even the most experiences winemakers, waiting until the wines have had a chance to spend some time in barrel leaves the producer with much more certainty as to the quality and consistency of the final wine. In a difficult vintage such as 2005 the selection of lots prior to assembling and bottling was therefore especially critical.

My recent visit to Antinori's Tignanello property in Chianti Classico provided an object lesson in the challenges of understanding the complexities and nuances of Tuscan terroir, something that can be extrapolated to many other regions within Italy as well. I saw vineyards where the two major terrains in these hills, galestro and alberese, alternated in groups of three to four rows within the very same plot. As a result, vines that were separated by no more than a few meters were at slightly different points in their vegetative cycles, meaning that work in the vineyards must literally proceed on a row by row, and sometimes, plant by plant basis.

Back in the winery, oenologist Renzo Cotarella prepared a comprehensive tasting of Antinori's two flagship wines, Tignanello and Solaia, with vintages going back to 1993, the first vintage he made on his own here. Tignanello is a Sangiovese-based wine with some Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, while its big brother Solaia is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon. The wines are predominantly in French oak although Hungarian and American oak are used as well.

To set the context, we started with the 2007s in their separate component wines, after which we tasted the 2006s in their final blends prior to bottling. Antinori's 2007s are highly promising reds with superb ripeness and rich aromatics. 2007 was a long growing season that culminated with cool nights in the fall. I tasted two Tignanello Sangioveses, both of which were beautiful. The wine from the older vineyard offered greater richness and dark, more balsamic nuances while the wine from the younger vineyard showed a fresher and perhaps slightly more mineral character. The Tignanello Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc were both varietally expressive, with superb richness, well-articulated bouquets and plenty of muscle.

I am convinced the Solaia vineyard is one of the greatest sites in the world for making wine. The same three varieties used in Tignanello take on a whole different voice here with more dramatic, baritone overtones and darker flavor profiles. The Sangiovese was superb and remarkably complete on its own. This sample showed more complexity and freshness than the Sangiovese planted in the Tignanello vineyard. The Cabernet Sauvignon was sweet, layered and intensely perfumed, while the Cabernet Franc showcased notable heft and structure.

Both the 2006 Solaia and Tignanello were impressive as well. This is a decidedly ripe vintage which Cotarella compares to 1997. The 2006 Tignanello (from tank) was packed with jammy, super-ripe fruit and revealed an especially large-scaled, sweeping personality with tons of harmony. The 2006 Solaia (from barrel) was similarly long, sweet and richly-textured, but with the additional level of sheer density and muscle that is such a big part of the wine's character.

The wines from bottle were equally impressive. While most of the wines from important vintages lived up to expectations, I was pleasantly surprised by the extremely positive evolution of the wines from smaller vintages, which proves yet again that quality-minded estates will almost always make a respectable wine, even in lesser years. One of the biggest changes at Antinori in recent years has been a major upgrade in the way the wines are handled in the cellar. 2004 was the first vintage in which the lots for Tignanello and Solaia were aged separately, with the final blend taking place at the end of the aging period, whereas previously the blend had been assembled just after the completion of malolactic fermentation. Given that wines develop and age in ways that sometimes surprise even the most experienced winemakers, waiting until the wines have had a chance to spend some time in barrel leaves the producer with much more certainty as to the quality and consistency of the final wine. In difficult vintages such as 2005 the ability to exclude barrels that have not developed as expected from the final blend can have a profound impact on quality.

Piero Antinori has been on the leading forces in Italian wines for decades. With estates spread throughout the country, today Antinori produces high-quality wines in many appellations. The highlights among these new releases are without question the 2003 and 2004 Tignanello and Solaia, perhaps the wines that Antinori is most closely identified with. “In 2003 the risk was in making wines with excessive concentration yet lacking phenolic ripeness,” says oenologist Renzo Cotarella. “For Tignanello and Solaia we used only the oldest vines, those that resisted the heat best. In order to preserve as much freshness as possible we shortened our maceration times and lowered temperatures by a few degrees so as to not over-extract the wines. Our production of Tignanello is 20% lower than normal, while our production of Solaia is 40% lower than normal. Oddly, production in 2004 for Tignanello and Solaia are also down about 20% and 40% respectively but for entirely different reasons. The growing season was cooler and much longer but we had some rain towards the end and therefore needed to be especially selective, both in the vineyards and in the cellar. I think 2004 is the best vintage we have ever made. It also represents a stylistic shift for us. In the past we have perhaps made wines that were overly concentrated. Maybe its my older age, but today I am looking for wines that are more about elegance and balance, and I think we captured than in 2004.” Readers should also take a close look at the wines Antinori is producing at La Braccesca, in Montepulciano which are reviewed separately.

Piero Antinori has been on the leading forces in Italian wines for decades. With estates spread throughout the country, today Antinori produces high-quality wines in many appellations. The highlights among these new releases are without question the 2003 and 2004 Tignanello and Solaia, perhaps the wines that Antinori is most closely identified with. “In 2003 the risk was in making wines with excessive concentration yet lacking phenolic ripeness,” says oenologist Renzo Cotarella. “For Tignanello and Solaia we used only the oldest vines, those that resisted the heat best. In order to preserve as much freshness as possible we shortened our maceration times and lowered temperatures by a few degrees so as to not over-extract the wines. Our production of Tignanello is 20% lower than normal, while our production of Solaia is 40% lower than normal. Oddly, production in 2004 for Tignanello and Solaia are also down about 20% and 40% respectively but for entirely different reasons. The growing season was cooler and much longer but we had some rain towards the end and therefore needed to be especially selective, both in the vineyards and in the cellar. I think 2004 is the best vintage we have ever made. It also represents a stylistic shift for us. In the past we have perhaps made wines that were overly concentrated. Maybe its my older age, but today I am looking for wines that are more about elegance and balance, and I think we captured than in 2004.” Readers should also take a close look at the wines Antinori is producing at La Braccesca, in Montepulciano which are reviewed separately.

My recent visit to Antinori's Tignanello property in Chianti Classico provided an object lesson in the challenges of understanding the complexities and nuances of Tuscan terroir, something that can be extrapolated to many other regions within Italy as well. I saw vineyards where the two major terrains in these hills, galestro and alberese, alternated in groups of three to four rows within the very same plot. As a result, vines that were separated by no more than a few meters were at slightly different points in their vegetative cycles, meaning that work in the vineyards must literally proceed on a row by row, and sometimes, plant by plant basis.

Back in the winery, oenologist Renzo Cotarella prepared a comprehensive tasting of Antinori's two flagship wines, Tignanello and Solaia, with vintages going back to 1993, the first vintage he made on his own here. Tignanello is a Sangiovese-based wine with some Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, while its big brother Solaia is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon. The wines are predominantly in French oak although Hungarian and American oak are used as well.

To set the context, we started with the 2007s in their separate component wines, after which we tasted the 2006s in their final blends prior to bottling. Antinori's 2007s are highly promising reds with superb ripeness and rich aromatics. 2007 was a long growing season that culminated with cool nights in the fall. I tasted two Tignanello Sangioveses, both of which were beautiful. The wine from the older vineyard offered greater richness and dark, more balsamic nuances while the wine from the younger vineyard showed a fresher and perhaps slightly more mineral character. The Tignanello Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc were both varietally expressive, with superb richness, well-articulated bouquets and plenty of muscle.

I am convinced the Solaia vineyard is one of the greatest sites in the world for making wine. The same three varieties used in Tignanello take on a whole different voice here with more dramatic, baritone overtones and darker flavor profiles. The Sangiovese was superb and remarkably complete on its own. This sample showed more complexity and freshness than the Sangiovese planted in the Tignanello vineyard. The Cabernet Sauvignon was sweet, layered and intensely perfumed, while the Cabernet Franc showcased notable heft and structure.

Both the 2006 Solaia and Tignanello were impressive as well. This is a decidedly ripe vintage which Cotarella compares to 1997. The 2006 Tignanello (from tank) was packed with jammy, super-ripe fruit and revealed an especially large-scaled, sweeping personality with tons of harmony. The 2006 Solaia (from barrel) was similarly long, sweet and richly-textured, but with the additional level of sheer density and muscle that is such a big part of the wine's character.

The wines from bottle were equally impressive. While most of the wines from important vintages lived up to expectations, I was pleasantly surprised by the extremely positive evolution of the wines from smaller vintages, which proves yet again that quality-minded estates will almost always make a respectable wine, even in lesser years. One of the biggest changes at Antinori in recent years has been a major upgrade in the way the wines are handled in the cellar. 2004 was the first vintage in which the lots for Tignanello and Solaia were aged separately, with the final blend taking place at the end of the aging period, whereas previously the blend had been assembled just after the completion of malolactic fermentation. Given that wines develop and age in ways that sometimes surprise even the most experienced winemakers, waiting until the wines have had a chance to spend some time in barrel leaves the producer with much more certainty as to the quality and consistency of the final wine. In difficult vintages such as 2005 the ability to exclude barrels that have not developed as expected from the final blend can have a profound impact on quality.

My recent visit to Antinori's Tignanello property in Chianti Classico provided an object lesson in the challenges of understanding the complexities and nuances of Tuscan terroir, something that can be extrapolated to many other regions within Italy as well. I saw vineyards where the two major terrains in these hills, galestro and alberese, alternated in groups of three to four rows within the very same plot. As a result, vines that were separated by no more than a few meters were at slightly different points in their vegetative cycles, meaning that work in the vineyards must literally proceed on a row by row, and sometimes, plant by plant basis.

Back in the winery, oenologist Renzo Cotarella prepared a comprehensive tasting of Antinori's two flagship wines, Tignanello and Solaia, with vintages going back to 1993, the first vintage he made on his own here. Tignanello is a Sangiovese-based wine with some Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, while its big brother Solaia is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon. The wines are predominantly in French oak although Hungarian and American oak are used as well.

To set the context, we started with the 2007s in their separate component wines, after which we tasted the 2006s in their final blends prior to bottling. Antinori's 2007s are highly promising reds with superb ripeness and rich aromatics. 2007 was a long growing season that culminated with cool nights in the fall. I tasted two Tignanello Sangioveses, both of which were beautiful. The wine from the older vineyard offered greater richness and dark, more balsamic nuances while the wine from the younger vineyard showed a fresher and perhaps slightly more mineral character. The Tignanello Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc were both varietally expressive, with superb richness, well-articulated bouquets and plenty of muscle.

I am convinced the Solaia vineyard is one of the greatest sites in the world for making wine. The same three varieties used in Tignanello take on a whole different voice here with more dramatic, baritone overtones and darker flavor profiles. The Sangiovese was superb and remarkably complete on its own. This sample showed more complexity and freshness than the Sangiovese planted in the Tignanello vineyard. The Cabernet Sauvignon was sweet, layered and intensely perfumed, while the Cabernet Franc showcased notable heft and structure.

Both the 2006 Solaia and Tignanello were impressive as well. This is a decidedly ripe vintage which Cotarella compares to 1997. The 2006 Tignanello (from tank) was packed with jammy, super-ripe fruit and revealed an especially large-scaled, sweeping personality with tons of harmony. The 2006 Solaia (from barrel) was similarly long, sweet and richly-textured, but with the additional level of sheer density and muscle that is such a big part of the wine's character.

The wines from bottle were equally impressive. While most of the wines from important vintages lived up to expectations, I was pleasantly surprised by the extremely positive evolution of the wines from smaller vintages, which proves yet again that quality-minded estates will almost always make a respectable wine, even in lesser years. One of the biggest changes at Antinori in recent years has been a major upgrade in the way the wines are handled in the cellar. 2004 was the first vintage in which the lots for Tignanello and Solaia were aged separately, with the final blend taking place at the end of the aging period, whereas previously the blend had been assembled just after the completion of malolactic fermentation. Given that wines develop and age in ways that sometimes surprise even the most experienced winemakers, waiting until the wines have had a chance to spend some time in barrel leaves the producer with much more certainty as to the quality and consistency of the final wine. In difficult vintages such as 2005 the ability to exclude barrels that have not developed as expected from the final blend can have a profound impact on quality.

My recent visit to Antinori's Tignanello property in Chianti Classico provided an object lesson in the challenges of understanding the complexities and nuances of Tuscan terroir, something that can be extrapolated to many other regions within Italy as well. I saw vineyards where the two major terrains in these hills, galestro and alberese, alternated in groups of three to four rows within the very same plot. As a result, vines that were separated by no more than a few meters were at slightly different points in their vegetative cycles, meaning that work in the vineyards must literally proceed on a row by row, and sometimes, plant by plant basis.

Back in the winery, oenologist Renzo Cotarella prepared a comprehensive tasting of Antinori's two flagship wines, Tignanello and Solaia, with vintages going back to 1993, the first vintage he made on his own here. Tignanello is a Sangiovese-based wine with some Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, while its big brother Solaia is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon. The wines are predominantly in French oak although Hungarian and American oak are used as well.

To set the context, we started with the 2007s in their separate component wines, after which we tasted the 2006s in their final blends prior to bottling. Antinori's 2007s are highly promising reds with superb ripeness and rich aromatics. 2007 was a long growing season that culminated with cool nights in the fall. I tasted two Tignanello Sangioveses, both of which were beautiful. The wine from the older vineyard offered greater richness and dark, more balsamic nuances while the wine from the younger vineyard showed a fresher and perhaps slightly more mineral character. The Tignanello Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc were both varietally expressive, with superb richness, well-articulated bouquets and plenty of muscle.

I am convinced the Solaia vineyard is one of the greatest sites in the world for making wine. The same three varieties used in Tignanello take on a whole different voice here with more dramatic, baritone overtones and darker flavor profiles. The Sangiovese was superb and remarkably complete on its own. This sample showed more complexity and freshness than the Sangiovese planted in the Tignanello vineyard. The Cabernet Sauvignon was sweet, layered and intensely perfumed, while the Cabernet Franc showcased notable heft and structure.

Both the 2006 Solaia and Tignanello were impressive as well. This is a decidedly ripe vintage which Cotarella compares to 1997. The 2006 Tignanello (from tank) was packed with jammy, super-ripe fruit and revealed an especially large-scaled, sweeping personality with tons of harmony. The 2006 Solaia (from barrel) was similarly long, sweet and richly-textured, but with the additional level of sheer density and muscle that is such a big part of the wine's character.

The wines from bottle were equally impressive. While most of the wines from important vintages lived up to expectations, I was pleasantly surprised by the extremely positive evolution of the wines from smaller vintages, which proves yet again that quality-minded estates will almost always make a respectable wine, even in lesser years. One of the biggest changes at Antinori in recent years has been a major upgrade in the way the wines are handled in the cellar. 2004 was the first vintage in which the lots for Tignanello and Solaia were aged separately, with the final blend taking place at the end of the aging period, whereas previously the blend had been assembled just after the completion of malolactic fermentation. Given that wines develop and age in ways that sometimes surprise even the most experienced winemakers, waiting until the wines have had a chance to spend some time in barrel leaves the producer with much more certainty as to the quality and consistency of the final wine. In difficult vintages such as 2005 the ability to exclude barrels that have not developed as expected from the final blend can have a profound impact on quality.

This is the house that has set the pace not only in Tuscany but in other places as well since the early 1970s: there are a bevy of top-flight wines now coming out of Prunotto in Piedmont, not to speak of the Castello della Sala wines of Umbria-both owned by Antinori. And the pace is hardly slackening. Very substantial purchases of vineyards have been made near Montepulciano and in the Tuscan Maremma, but Chianti Classico remains a principal focus. The series of wines from Chianti Classico in 1997, principally from purchased grapes, is startling in the uniformly high quality of every wine in its category. And with important quantities as well!

My recent visit to Antinori's Tignanello property in Chianti Classico provided an object lesson in the challenges of understanding the complexities and nuances of Tuscan terroir, something that can be extrapolated to many other regions within Italy as well. I saw vineyards where the two major terrains in these hills, galestro and alberese, alternated in groups of three to four rows within the very same plot. As a result, vines that were separated by no more than a few meters were at slightly different points in their vegetative cycles, meaning that work in the vineyards must literally proceed on a row by row, and sometimes, plant by plant basis.

Back in the winery, oenologist Renzo Cotarella prepared a comprehensive tasting of Antinori's two flagship wines, Tignanello and Solaia, with vintages going back to 1993, the first vintage he made on his own here. Tignanello is a Sangiovese-based wine with some Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, while its big brother Solaia is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon. The wines are predominantly in French oak although Hungarian and American oak are used as well.

To set the context, we started with the 2007s in their separate component wines, after which we tasted the 2006s in their final blends prior to bottling. Antinori's 2007s are highly promising reds with superb ripeness and rich aromatics. 2007 was a long growing season that culminated with cool nights in the fall. I tasted two Tignanello Sangioveses, both of which were beautiful. The wine from the older vineyard offered greater richness and dark, more balsamic nuances while the wine from the younger vineyard showed a fresher and perhaps slightly more mineral character. The Tignanello Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc were both varietally expressive, with superb richness, well-articulated bouquets and plenty of muscle.

I am convinced the Solaia vineyard is one of the greatest sites in the world for making wine. The same three varieties used in Tignanello take on a whole different voice here with more dramatic, baritone overtones and darker flavor profiles. The Sangiovese was superb and remarkably complete on its own. This sample showed more complexity and freshness than the Sangiovese planted in the Tignanello vineyard. The Cabernet Sauvignon was sweet, layered and intensely perfumed, while the Cabernet Franc showcased notable heft and structure.

Both the 2006 Solaia and Tignanello were impressive as well. This is a decidedly ripe vintage which Cotarella compares to 1997. The 2006 Tignanello (from tank) was packed with jammy, super-ripe fruit and revealed an especially large-scaled, sweeping personality with tons of harmony. The 2006 Solaia (from barrel) was similarly long, sweet and richly-textured, but with the additional level of sheer density and muscle that is such a big part of the wine's character.

The wines from bottle were equally impressive. While most of the wines from important vintages lived up to expectations, I was pleasantly surprised by the extremely positive evolution of the wines from smaller vintages, which proves yet again that quality-minded estates will almost always make a respectable wine, even in lesser years. One of the biggest changes at Antinori in recent years has been a major upgrade in the way the wines are handled in the cellar. 2004 was the first vintage in which the lots for Tignanello and Solaia were aged separately, with the final blend taking place at the end of the aging period, whereas previously the blend had been assembled just after the completion of malolactic fermentation. Given that wines develop and age in ways that sometimes surprise even the most experienced winemakers, waiting until the wines have had a chance to spend some time in barrel leaves the producer with much more certainty as to the quality and consistency of the final wine. In difficult vintages such as 2005 the ability to exclude barrels that have not developed as expected from the final blend can have a profound impact on quality.