This is starting to approach the 1985 in personality.
“Passion through evolution. To render modern and unique that which is born from deep and rooted traditions.” This is the Antinori mission.
In the Chianti Classico appellation, a place where Sangiovese, long grown alongside international varietals, has forged a symbiotic relationship that today seems inextricable to the land.
Human sensibility adds its contribution to the fundamental elements of this terroir and transforms that which nature provides into the vintners art.
Recently, we graced the table with the epitome of this mission; and from the estate of the same name, we uncorked Tignanello - a groundbreaking achievement in Tuscan wine.
Thanks Kevin, I have one more. And some 1997. After that, it’s post 2009. It reaffirms this wine for me. There was a time when the price creeped over $100 which was just stupid. Now I’m finding it again for $60+ and nits worth stashing at that price IMO.
Great note, John. Recently had a bottle of this, and while very good it was not as complex as you describe. think i rated it 92. I thought maybe it was in an awkward phase but the bottle was aquired on auction so also the chance of some damage along the way, or just bottle variation.
Reading your note make me wish i had more. Agree with you pricing wise. i have to pay around 65-70$ for newer releases and at that price it is a sure winner. but north of 100$ i am not a buyer. Paid 65$ on auction for both the 2001 and the 2007
The pricing north of $100 seemed to be for a very brief time and thankfully, was unsustainable. I think I paid around $60 give or take for the 2007 & 2009. I’ll grab some 2010 when I see it too.
Are you quoting straight from their PR materials? You sound like you’re on the payroll.
I find it hard to get excited about Antinori. I was served the current release Villa Antinori Toscano IGT red and Villa Antinori Chianti Classico on Saturday. The former was boring, mass-produced wine. The latter had a bit more depth but little fruit and was dominated by cabernet flavors. Poor value for the money in both cases.
We also had a 93 Tignanello that was one-dimensional and very tannic still. I cut it some slack because of the vintage; I’ve had very pleasing, silky Tignanellos in the past. The Chianti Classico was a go-to wine for me 20 years ago. But these days I find it hard to wax poetic about Antinori. So much of what they turn out seems like the epitome of corporate winemaking.
Oooohhhh – I went through several bottles of the 1997, and just drank my last one over the holidays. It was absolutely outstanding, and stole the show against some pricier stuff. Now you’ve got me thinking about it again…
I do occasionally use background stuff occasionally from PR materials provided to me. Normally I attempt to paraphrase.
I agree with you re: The Villa. That used to be a great CCR but Antinori lost a lot of the vineyard sources when leases expired so they had to change it to a Tuscan blend. The quality went way down after that and I stopped buying it. The only CCR of theirs I still buy is the Badia a Passignano. I also agree with you on the 1993. Not great and I’ve had that a few times. Mostly I buy their wines at the high end now only, but the Santa Cristina can sometimes be nice value.
As for corporate winemaking, it is really pathetic how people equate large producers with poor quality, sight unseen. Do you have any idea what Tuscan winemaking would be without Antinori? You need to read my article “Re-Sizing the Argument”. I think it would open your eyes a little.
Your note sounds like it was sent straight from Antinori’s marketing department. It’s as dewy as the prose you see in Wine Spectator advertisements. In a day and age where advertising and editorial content is blurring, it seems a little strange to present yourself as an independent blogger if you are quoting/paraphrasing PR materials sent to you and working a few words around and not informing your audience of it. My two cents.
Villa Antinori produced a Chianti Classico Riserva in 2010. I am looking at a bottle. It is good, if a touch expensive.
Your note sounds like it was sent straight from Antinori’s marketing department. It’s as dewy as the prose you see in Wine Spectator advertisements. In a day and age where advertising and editorial content is blurring, it seems a little strange to present yourself as an independent blogger if you are quoting/paraphrasing PR materials sent to you and working a few words around and not informing your audience of it. My two cents.
Villa Antinori produced a Chianti Classico Riserva in 2010. I am looking at a bottle. It is good, if a touch expensive.[/quote]
Thanks for the take. The note is all mine. I only use PR material typically for estate background, aging and production info, that sort of thing. And I don’t work for Antinori, nor was this wine a sample. When I get samples, I disclose it in the article.
I wonder if Antinori got new vineyard leases with the 2010 or if this is somehow a re-branding of Peppoli.
So the prose you posted, after the “passion through evolution” bit, is all yours? Or do you mean the note on your blog after the link? Because it really is hard to imagine this quote was objectively written. Besides retailing and a running a Champagne bar, I write about wine, beer and spirits, and it is REALLY tough for me to imagine this prose was yours alone. I took a look at some other TNs you’ve posted here, and they don’t sound quite like this.
For what it’s worth, I have had this and many other vintages of Tig, and this is very generous.
I understand that a big corporate winemaking firm like Antinori elicit little enthusiasm on a wineboard like this. And while i dont get super exited about their entry level wines, i often find decent quality at good pricepoints in their product range. I enjoy the Marchese antinori CCR quite a bit, and find it excellent value, and the Villa Antinori 2009 and 2010 is for me a good daily drinker for the 12$ i have to pay for it locally. I loved Tignanello 2009, and i liked thw 2001. I think there is good consistency in the lineup from Antinori in Tuscany.
Certainly some criticism comes from the fact that the flavor profiles tend to be international, the Marchese does have cabernet flavor and the Badia Passignano (atleast the 2007 i had) was ripe and with generous oak applied to it which needs to integrate. With such a large production as Antinori has, it makes sense to make wine that is commercially viable in many markets and appealing to a large customer base. That may be off-putting to some. But as John writes, the Antinori family is probably the single most important family in the history of tuscan winemaking.
Mattias – The issue wasn’t whether the Antinori family is commercially important. What I was reacting to was John F’s gushing as if they are God’s gift to wine, particularly when he seems to agree with you and me and other people here that many of their bottlings are just mediocre.
People come here to discuss, argue, share experiences and knowledge, not read to see corporate mottos emblazoned at the top of posts.
Footnote: It was the Villa Antinori CCR (the one with a gold label), not the Marchese Antinori CCR, that we had Saturday – the one that was dominated by cabernet flavors.
“People come here argue, share experiences and knowledge”
Right. I shared the experience of my son becoming a teenager. I shared my knowledge of a wine I have cellared for 10+ years. Your argument re: Antinori was directed at them generally, for their “corporate” winemaking. You cited 2 examples, but didn’t restrict your comments to those examples. Tignanello, Solaia, Badia a Passignano and sometimes Tenute Marchese are some of the greatest wines in Italy. I’m ok with that.
