Tenuta Tignanello 2003
Marchesi Antinori is located in Tuscany and is one of the largest and most important producers in Italy . The Antinori family has been committed to the art of winemaking since 1385, when Giovanni di Piero Antinori became a member of the Arte Fiorentina dei Vinattieri (The Brotherhood of Florentine Winegrowers). In 1900 Antinori added the Tignanello vineyard to his portfolio, and Niccolò Antinori and his son Piero began experimenting with winemaking techniques and grape varieties then unheard of. The family now owns several vineyards in Italy and in the rest of the world (Napa Valley, Chile, Romania, etc.).
The Tenuta Tignanello estate lies in the heart of Chianti Classico , in the hills between the Greve and Pesa river valleys. It extends over an area of 319 hectares, of which approximately 130 hectares are devoted to vines and divided into small individual plots. Two of the estate's most prized vineyards are found on the same hillside, Tignanello and Solaia , on soils derived from marine marls rich in limestone and shale. The first vintage of Tignanello was released in 1971. Tignanello is the most famous of all Antinori wines and the first barrel-aged Sangiovese , the first contemporary red wine blended with non-traditional grape varieties (especially Cabernet) and the one of the first red wines from the Chianti Classico region not to use white grapes.
The 2003 vintage in Tuscany was very good. The spring was mild and wet, but the April frosts caused considerable damage to bud burst. However, an abnormally hot summer finally arrived and Tuscany suffered from extreme heat and drought, with rain not falling until September. The resulting yields were extremely small but the quality was high.
Grapes: Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc