The Antinori family had, in the late 1960s, been working on a predominately Sangiovese blend with around 10% of Cabernet Sauvignon and later 5% of Cabernet Franc. This was Tignanello. The first vintage was in 1971 and it was released commercially in 1974. The grapes come from the Tenuta Tignanello estate in San Casciano in Val Pesa about 30 minutes’ drive south of Florence in the heart of the Chianti Classico zone. This hillside location of 130 hectares (321 acres) of vineyard is divided into smaller individual parcels; two of these parcels are the Tignanello vineyard itself and the Solaia vineyard from which the wines of that name are produced.

At the time Tignanello was established it was a radical move to make a blend of Sangiovese with 15% Cabernets. So radical, in fact, that it had to be released as a ‘vino da tavola’ because the Chianti Classico regulations forbade the use of non-Italian grape varieties in the blend and mandated the inclusion of white grapes alongside Sangiovese. But Piero Antinori was focused upon making a world-class wine and for this reason he was prepared to take the risk. He wanted Tignanello to express ‘a vineyard and an idea: that is the essence of an important wine’.

Tignanello quickly acquired critical acclaim and commanded higher prices than any Chianti Classico. Not only did it achieve a cult status of its own, but it helped to revolutionise the wines of Chianti Classico and ultimately all Italian wines: in the 1990s the Chianti Classico Consorzio created a new Indicazione Geographica Typica (IGT) denomination for Tuscany, allowing producers greater freedom and flexibility; the requirement for white varieties was phased out and the use of up to 20% of Bordeaux varieties was permitted.

When Tachis retired from Antinori in 1992, the winemaking baton passed into the careful hands of Renzo Cotarella, now CEO. Recently I tasted 12 vintages of Tignanello with Cotarella and I was surprised at how well some of the older vintages had aged. But I could also see that the quality of these exceptional wines continues to improve.  I gave the 2018 a perfect score of 100 points; Cotarella told me later that the 2018 was the best he had ever made.

In October 2022, hosting a press review of the current vintage, Cotarella expressed his belief that, in terms of pure quality, Sangiovese no longer needed the help of the Bordeaux varieties to make a perfectly balanced wine. Reassuringly though, he confirmed Tignanello would remain true to its original blend.