MARCHESI ANTINORI | Tignanello | 2016
sangiovese | cabernet sauvignon | cabernet franc
We will be evaluating wines in no particular order on no particular schedule. Just stay tuned and you will never miss our reviews. If the wine is tasted more than once, the rating table will be updated so as to reflect all the new impressions and observations.
For over six centuries, Antinori is synonymous to excellence in the art of winemaking. All throughout its history, Antinori managed the business with innovative and sometimes bold decisions, while upholding the utmost respect for traditions and environment. Marchesi Antinori’s passion for viticulture is expressed through their continuous pursuit for quality improvement, even in the smallest details. Research and development is an ongoing process both in the vineyards and in the cellars: selecting new clones of local and international varieties, experimenting with new winemaking techniques and vineyard altitudes, new approaches to fermentation and temperature control, experimenting with both traditional and innovative winemaking philosophies, using new types of oak, barrel size and age.
The wine we are going to review today is a living legend that hardly requires any introduction – Tignanello 2016 by Marchesi Antinori. This is one of the pioneers of Super Tuscan wines – it was the first sangiovese to be aged in oak barriques, the first italian red wine blended with international varieties (specifically cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc) and one of the first red wines in the Chianti Classico region that didn’t use white grapes in the blend. Tenuta Tignanello is in the heart of Chianti Classico region, in the rolling hillsides between the Greve and Pesa river valleys. The two of the estate’s prized vineyards, Tignanello and Solaia, are on the same hillside, on soils rich in limestone and schist. These two signature wines, Solaia and Tignanello, have been defined by the international experts as among the most influential wines in the history of italian viticulture. That said, without further ado, let’s take a look at the wine tasting results.
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Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:
//Visual
clarity: clear | hazy | cloudy | misty
brightness: dull | hazy | bright | starbright
concentration: translucent | pale | medium | deep | opaque
color: indigo | purple | ruby | garnet | copper
hue: indigo | purple | ruby | garnet | copper
//Sight
stain: light | medium | heavy
viscosity: low | medium | high
gas evidence: yes | no
sediment: yes | no
//Olfactory
outset: clean | faulty [TCA | sulphur | ethyl acetate | geosmin | brett | oxidation | VA]
intensity: delicate | light | moderate | rich | powerful
fruit profile: red fruits | black fruits | blue fruits | berry fruits
__red fruits: sour cherry | sweet cherry | red plum | red currant | cranberry
__black fruits: black cherry | black plum | blackcurrant | blackberry | black raspberry
__blue fruits: blue plum | blueberry | honeyberry | blue huckleberry
__berry fruits: strawberry | raspberry | wild strawberry | goji berry | wolfberry
fruit character: baked | unripe | ripe | overripe | jammy | dried
//Flavor
non fruit: floral | vegetal | herbal | spice | oak | sweet | animal | earth
__floral: orange blossom | roses | peonies | lilac | violet | lavender
__vegetal: dill | bell pepper | capsicum | asparagus | olive
__herbal: eucalyptus | coriander | currant leaf | tomato leaf
__spice: red pepper | black pepper | nutmeg | cloves | anise | rosemary | ginger | mint
__oak: coconut | vanilla | cinnamon | liquorice | tobacco | coffee | chocolate | smoke
__sweet: caramel | toffee | burnt sugar | molasses | menthol | dried figs
__animal: gravy | capocollo | veal| leather | musk | barnyard | horse saddle
__earth (organic): soil dust | turf | forest floor | compost | mushrooms | truffle
__earth (inorganic): limestone | chalk | slate | flint | aspirin | petroleum | varnish
__wood: [old | new | none] / [dried | roasted | charred]
aroma: primary | secondary | tertiary
//Palate
sweetness: bone dry | dry | off dry | sweet | extra sweet
acidity: low | med(-) | medium | med(+) | high
alcohol: low | med(-) | medium | med(+) | high
tannin: low | med(-) | medium | med(+) | high
__grip: fine | ripe | firm | green | rough
texture: creamy | round | lean
body: light | medium | full
balance: bad | poor | fair | good | fine
__dominant: sugar | acidity | alcohol | tannin | none
complexity: simple | moderate | complex
//Taste
fruit profile: red fruits | black fruits | blue fruits
fruit character: baked | unripe | ripe | overripe | jammy | dried
non fruit: floral | vegetal | herbal | spice | oak | sweet | animal | earth
aroma: primary | secondary | tertiary
finish: short | med(-) | medium | med(+) | long
aftertaste: rough | astringent | seedy | appealing | velvety
//Scoring
MARCHESI ANTINORI | Tignanello | 2016
variety: sangiovese | cabernet sauvignon | cabernet franc
origin: old world | new world
climate: cool | moderate | warm
country: Italy
region: Toscana
rating: 95.0
//Conclusion
maturity: on the rise | in its prime | past its prime | on the decline
verdict: fair | good | fine | great | exceptional
//Rating
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This is definitely an exceptional wine of Italy and, with a total of 95.0 points scored, this wine is right there, among the best wines we’ve rated so far. Check our complete database on the wine rating page, where you can find all the wines that we have tasted and reviewed or go to the about us page and find out more about our exquisite rating system.
Verdict: this is a classic Super Tuscan wine blend – elegant, velvety and expressive, with a very good ageing potential – a wine that has yet to reach its prime form, thus one that requires another 3 or 4 more years of bottle ageing. With a fine-tannic grip on the mouthfeel and mouth-watering acidity which leads to a seedy-crisp finale, this wine is a fine example of how a textbook, old-world blend can be crafted using tradition and technology, mixing indigenous and international grape varieties. Tenuta Tignanello introduced new winemaking techniques and new varieties such as cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc and coupled with the finest selection of the sangiovese grapes, it all resulted in wines with concentrated fruit and soft, fine-grained tannins – wines with distinctive personalities that were able to reflect the region’s signature terroir. Enjoy!
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© The WineStatistics ratings are based solely on our own knowledge of the world of wine and on our personal wine tastes, which may, or may not, differ from yours – the reader. Just remember that there are no absolutes of right and wrong in wine appreciation.
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WineStatistics is a non-profit community. We produce independent and highly detailed wine reviews.
By training ourselves to stop, take a breath, and pay attention to the subtle elements that distinguish one wine from any other, we learn an important lesson about life – that it’s worth taking the time to slow down and appreciate things that pleases us, from a glass of wine to a great work of art. It’s a simple way to learn to appreciate the little things in life that may in some small way enhance our enjoyment of every day.
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WineStatistics is a non-profit community. We produce independent and highly detailed wine reviews.
By training ourselves to stop, take a breath, and pay attention to the subtle elements that distinguish one wine from any other, we learn an important lesson about life – that it’s worth taking the time to slow down and appreciate things that pleases us, from a glass of wine to a great work of art. It’s a simple way to learn to appreciate the little things in life that may in some small way enhance our enjoyment of every day.
In order to continue our work we need support from people like you. People who appreciate our contribution in spreading wine knowledge and raising wine awareness across the borders.
You may now support us by contributing with a monthly donation so that we can review even more wines.
WineStatistics is a non-profit community. We produce independent and highly detailed wine reviews.
By training ourselves to stop, take a breath, and pay attention to the subtle elements that distinguish one wine from any other, we learn an important lesson about life – that it’s worth taking the time to slow down and appreciate things that pleases us, from a glass of wine to a great work of art. It’s a simple way to learn to appreciate the little things in life that may in some small way enhance our enjoyment of every day.
In order to continue our work we need support from people like you. People who appreciate our contribution in spreading wine knowledge and raising wine awareness across the borders.
You may now support us by contributing with a yearly donation so that we can review even more wines.
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