TUSCANY IGT "TIGNANELLO" 2020 - ANTINORI

Appellation : Toscana IGT

Vintage : 2020

Alcohol : 14%

Region : Tuscany (Italy)

Format : 0.75 l

Grapes : Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc

Climate

2020 in Chianti Classico began with a mild and dry winter and, only in the final part of the month of March, was it characterized by a short cold period; these climatic conditions favored an early budding of the vine. The averagely rainy and rather cool spring preceded a hot summer, free from thermal excesses, and characterized by some rainy events which allowed the bunches to grow optimally. The month of September, during which the harvesting operations began, was characterized above all in its final part by light rains which favored the completion of the phenolic ripening of the grapes. The harvest was rather concentrated, from 20 September to 9 October, and began with Sangiovese and Cabernet Franc and ended with Cabernet Sauvignon.

Vinification

The climatic trend of the harvest required, as usual, a lot of attention both in the vineyard during the harvesting operations and in the cellar when the grapes arrived, where the sorting and the initial processing were fundamental for achieving an optimal final result. During the fermentation process in truncated conical tanks, the musts were macerated with extreme attention to maintaining the aromas, extracting the color and managing the sweetness and elegance of the tannins. The racking took place only after careful and daily tastings. Once the skins were separated from the wine, malolactic fermentation was started in barriques, to enhance the finesse and complexity of the aromas. The aging process took place in French and Hungarian oak barrels, partly new and partly second passage, for a total period of about 15 months; after an initial refinement in separate lots, these were assembled to complete the evolution in wood. The wine, mainly produced with Sangiovese grapes and a small part of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, was aged for a further 12 months in the bottle before being presented on the market.

Historical data

Tignanello is produced exclusively from the vineyard of the same name which is located at Tenuta Tignanello on a land of 57 hectares facing south-west, of calcareous origin with tufa elements, at an altitude between 350 and 400 meters above sea level. It was the first Sangiovese to be aged in barriques, the first modern red wine blended with non-traditional varieties, such as Cabernet, and among the first red wines in Chianti not to use white grapes. Tignanello, originally "Chianti Classico Riserva vigneto Tignanello" was vinified for the first time from a single vineyard with the 1970 vintage, when it contained 20% Canaiolo and 5% Trebbiano and Malvasia, and was aged in small barrels of oak. With the 1971 vintage it became a Tuscan table wine, it was called Tignanello and with the 1975 vintage the white grapes were totally eliminated. Since 1982 the composition has remained unchanged. Tignanello is produced only in the best years; it was not produced in 1972, 1973,1974, 1976, 1984, 1992 and 2002.

Tasting notes