Producer
The Antinori family have been producing wine in Tuscany for six centuries, and exporting it for four. The purchase of the Tignanello estate in 1900 marked the beginning of a remarkable period of expansion which shows no signs of abating. Through judicious acquisition of vineyards and an uncanny knack for developing iconic wines, Antinori has become Tuscany’s -arguably Italy’s – pre-eminent wine producer, with an important presence in Piedmont, Lombardy, Umbria and Puglia as well as their Tuscan heartland.
Vineyard
The 325-hectare Badia a Passignano estate surrounds a fortified abbey near Sambuca Val di Pesa, three kilometres south of Tenuta Tignanello. Fifty hectares of limestone-based land are currently planted with Sangiovese vines, from which only the best bunches were selected.
Winery
This wine was made in the monastery cellars in the abbey at the heart of the property. The grapes were destemmed, carefully selected, then lightly crushed and transfered to tank for ten days’ fermentation. There was then a further 10-12 days’ skin contact, after which the wine was moved to Hungarian barrels of 225, 300 and 500 litres for malolactic fermentation and eighteen months’ ageing.
