Marchesi Antinori · Chianti Classico, Tuscany
Sangiovese-led · cherry · spice · polished tannin · modern Tuscan
Tignanello is a landmark Tuscan wine because it deliberately stepped outside the conventions of its time. Antinori describes it as the first Sangiovese to be aged in barriques and one of the first modern Chianti-area reds to blend Sangiovese with Cabernet without white grapes.
Country
Italy
Region
Chianti Classico, Tuscany
Appellation
Toscana IGT
Grapes
Sangiovese · Cabernet Sauvignon · Cabernet Franc
Style
Red
Realistic spend
£130–£180
Budget band: £100–£200
Best moments
A strong celebratory red for autumn and winter dinners, birthdays and anniversaries.
Why this wine matters
The first single-vineyard version dates to 1970; from 1971 the wine took the Tignanello name. It became a reference point for the wave of ambitious Tuscan wines that later came to be associated with the “Super Tuscan” idea.
How it is made
Fruit comes from the Tignanello vineyard, a limestone-rich site at roughly 350–400 metres. The modern blend combines Sangiovese with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, with small-oak maturation part of the wine’s established identity.
What does it taste like?
Red cherry and darker fruit sit alongside savoury herbs, spice and polished oak. The structure is firm enough to age, but the Cabernet component tends to make the wine feel broader and more composed than a purely traditional Sangiovese expression.
Serve it well
Give a young bottle air and serve slightly below ordinary room temperature. It is a wine that rewards a large glass and food with savoury depth.
If this wine were human…
If Tignanello were human, it would be knows the rules well enough to break exactly the right ones.
Does any of this sound suspiciously familiar?
Knows the rules well enough to break exactly the right ones. You notice small details and then pretend you did not, mostly to see whether anyone else does.
At dinner, you are happy to share the bottle, but you definitely noticed who poured themselves the heroic measure. Secretly, you are slightly competitive about having found the good place before everyone else.
In short: knows the rules well enough to break exactly the right ones. sangiovese-led energy, translated into a person.
Purely for fun — this is the wine’s fictional personality, not a psychological reading of yours.
What to eat with it
And the cheese?
Start with this wine and move straight into cheese, or build a whole tasting around it.
Keep exploring
There are 365 more wines where this came from.
This profile is researched against producer or similarly authoritative material. Vintage-specific details are kept separate from the permanent wine identity.
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