2021 Tenuta Tignanello Marchese Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva

Deep, concentrated and bright with sturdy tannins and a long, generously fruited yet rustic finish.

The 2021 vintage is considered to be one of the best vintages ever in Chianti producing wines of power and elegance. Sourced from Antinori’s Tignanello estate, located in the heart of the Chianti Classico, the wine is produced primarily from Sangiovese with some Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot also included in the blend. Maturation takes place in French and Hungarian oak barriques for approximately one year.
Midnight black heart with a deep dark red hue. A mix of red to black currant scents sail through the olfactory senses with some red cherry, earth, tobacco and spicy dried herb notes then ensuing. Mid weighted the palate is awash with rich red to black currant and dark cherry fruits. Notions of earth, dried herbs, dusty cedar, tobacco and spice lend further complexity. Deep, concentrated and bright it possesses a sturdy tannin structure which lends some grip onto the long, generously fruited yet rustic finish.
Drink over the next 6-8 years
Alc. 14.5%

Other Reviews….
Impressive cherry and berry fruit with hints of cedar and dried flowers. It’s medium-bodied, firm and bright with a long, nicely tannined finish. This can age, but I like the tension and drive to this now. Baby Tignanello. Sangiovese with 10% cabernet. Drink or hold.
95 Points
JamesSuckling.com

This ripe style is fresh and harmonious, delivering plum, cherry and boysenberry fruit, with accents of earth, iron and eucalyptus. Supple in texture, with a beautifully integrated structure and long, complex aftertaste. Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Best from 2026 through 2043.
95 Points
Wine Spectator

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.
I agree, mostly, but not unequivocally. I love the precision and tension inherent to these wines, but I didn't encounter that same breathless vertical lift and linearity that I remember so well in 2016, for example. That was a vintage that managed to effortlessly balance both power and elegance, which is by no means an easy feat. To me, 2021 has the elegance but not the same piercing power that you only get in cooler vintages when sugar and phenolic ripening line up seamlessly. So, while I love these wines, especially the Chianti Classico Riserva Marchese Antinori and the outstanding Tignanello, my money is still on 2016 as the better vintage, speaking generally. But zoom in on one wine and my money is on the 2021 Tignanello over everything else.
This is one of the big surprises of this tasting and ultimately represents one of the best buys in the entire extended Marchesi Antinori portfolio. The 2021 Chianti Classico Riserva Tenuta Tignanello Marchese Antinori shares the DNA of Tignanello. It is Sangiovese kissed with small parts of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Of course, the wine is more accessible and open compared to Tignanello, and spiritually, this wine is a Chianti Classico. By that I mean that the elegant minerality of these soils and the sunny flavors of its environs are the determining characteristics. You get wildflower, iris, tart fruit and plum. The wine's enhanced mineral character, with dusty white rock, is what adds lasting complexity and depth. Drink 2024-2033.
94+ Points
Monica Larner – Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate