Background

Tignanello is produced exclusively from the vineyard of the same name,a parcel of some 140 acres (57 hectares) with limestone-rich soils and a southwestern exposure at 1150-1325 feets (350-400 meters)above sea level at the Tignanello estate. It was the first Sangiovese wine to be aged in small oak barrels, the first modern red wine to use such non-traditional varieties as Cabernet in the blend,and among the first red wines from the Chianti Classico area to be produced without white grapes. The wine, originally called "Chianti Classico Riserva Vigneto Tignanello" (a Chianti Classico Riserva from the Tignanello vineyard), was produced for the first time from a single vineyard parcel in 1970, when the blend contained 20% of Canaiolo and 5% of Trebbiano and Malvasia, both white grapes, and the wine aged in small oak barrels. In 1971 it became a Tuscan red table wine rather than a Chianti Classico, and was called Tignanello. In the 1975 vintage the percentage of white grapes was definitively eliminated from the blend. Ever since 1982, the blend has been the one currently used. Tignanello is bottled only in favorable vintages, and was not produced in 1972, 1973,1974, 1976, 1984, 1992,and 2002.

Tasting notes

Notes of red fruit, raspberries,and liquorice. Firm tannins with much polish and finesse as well, along with a balancing acidity and savory mineral notes which add length and persistence to the finish and aftertaste.

Winemaking

After the hand sorting the berries were crushed and transferred in a conical tank fermenter. Fermentation and maceration lasted 15-20 days and was managed using mainly punching-down in order to avoid strong mechanical actions on the skin. The result was a wine with much softer tannins and better balance. After the juice was separated from the skins, the wine was put through a complete malolactic fermentation in small oak barrels. The aging process then began and lasted approximately twelve to fourteen months; during this period, the various lots, fermented and aged separately by variety and plot by plot, developed in barrel and then,a few months before bottling, were assembled and blended. After the bottling, the period of ageing in bottle was approximately 12 months.

Food pairings

Roasted Veal, Lamb or beef. Stewed meats. Hearty pasta dishes such as Lasagne.