With the excellent 2021 vintage, Antinori's Tignanello is celebrating its 50th anniversary. This groundbreaking red wine was bottled for the first time in the 1971 vintage. What was revolutionary at the time was the use of barriques and Cabernet Sauvignon in the cuvée, as well as the complete avoidance of white grapes, the use of which was still common in Chianti Classico at the time.
This made the Tignanello the second Supertuscan on the market and the first with predominantly Sangiovese in the blend. However, it is not the fiftieth vintage, because this wine was not available in the years 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1984, 1992 and 2002.
The 2021 Tignanello from Antinori consists of 79% Sangiovese, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Cabernet Franc. The aging takes fifteen months and takes place mainly in barriques made of French oak, a small part of the barrels are made of Hungarian oak.
2021 is undoubtedly one of the best Tignanello vintages of all time. The few press articles that have appeared so far are euphoric; Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and Vinous.com both have 98/100 points and are therefore significantly higher than previous vintages. Tignanello is already a cult wine. 2021 will be the cult vintage of the cult wine.
