“First made in 1971, this legendary Italian wine now celebrates its 50th birthday. Happy Birthday, Tignanello! The Marchesi Antinori 2021 Tignanello (made with 79% Sangiovese, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Cabernet Franc) pulls on all the heartstrings. To be released in May, the wine shows a quintessentially pretty taste profile with tart fruit flavors, redcurrant, tea leaf, heritage rose, crushed white pepper, licorice, nutmeg, clove and chopped mint. It opens slowly to reveal more richness and exuberance with time, becoming downright voluptuous and heady a short while later. The through line, however, remains the bright freshness and minerality of Sangiovese. Compared to the 2018 vintage (which I also loved), this vintage has more overall fruit weight and volume. Drink Date: 2025 - 2048.
Marchesi Antinori General Manager Renzo Cotarella tells me that 2021 is the best vintage he has ever overseen. Ever. He prefers it to recent classics like 2016 and 2010. There was frost in the spring, and the growing cycle was very long. This is something that most grapes, and especially Sangiovese, need in order to exhibit aromatic depth and flavor complexity. ‘This is an exceptional year,’ he says, citing the inner energy certainly exhibited by the wines from 2021.” – Monica Larner
Review Date: March 2024
Vinous: 98 points
“The 2021 Tignanello is every bit as impressive from bottle as it was from barrel and then just after bottling. Silky and polished, with exceptional finesse, the 2021 has all the pedigree to become a modern benchmark for Tignanello and Italian wine more broadly. Bright dark red fruit, blood orange, spice, cedar and sweet pipe tobacco all soar out of the glass, framed by a discreet touch of French oak that adds raciness. In some vintages, the elements are discernible. In 2021, it is the total harmony of the wine that makes the strongest and deepest impression. The 2021 spent 17 months in wood, three months in neutral oak during the malolactic fermentation and then 14 months (50% new) for the rest of its aging. Superb. Drinking Window: 2027 – 2051.
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.” – Antonio Galloni
Review Date: February 2024
Wine Spectator: 97 points
“Laced with pure cherry, strawberry, graphite and tobacco aromas and flavors, this red is beautifully supported by a backbone of vibrant acidity and taut, refined tannins. Everything is framed by vanilla and toasty oak in the best sense, revealing harmony, with a long, orange-tinged finish and, yes, even drinkability at this stage. Best to give this a few more years in the bottle. Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2027 through 2045.” – Bruce Sanderson
Review Date: July 2024
