Chianti Classico Riserva "Marchese" Tignanello DOCG

Producer history

Marchesi Antinori traces its winemaking to 1385, when Giovanni di Piero Antinori joined the Arte Fiorentina dei Vinattieri, the Florentine winemakers' guild — the beginning of a business the family has managed directly across twenty-six generations, balancing innovative and at times bold choices against respect for tradition and territory. The family's Florence seat, Palazzo Antinori, was bought by Niccolò di Tommaso Antinori on 2 February 1506 for 4,000 florins. Today the twenty-sixth generation runs the company: sisters Albiera, Allegra and Alessia Antinori, daughters of Piero Antinori, supported by Renzo Cotarella. The Tenuta Tignanello estate, set between the Greve and Pesa valleys in Chianti Classico, is planted principally to Sangiovese alongside Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, and supplies this Riserva exclusively from the 2011 vintage onward. Marchese Antinori is described by the house as an historic wine of its cellars.

Signature pairings

• Ribollita, Tuscan bread and bean soup — Sangiovese's savoury acidity is built for cucina povera; the wine's freshness lifts a dense, olive-oil-rich soup that would flatten a heavier red.
• Roast duck with sour cherry — The black-cherry and red-berry register Antinori cites for recent vintages meets the fruit in the sauce directly, and the wine's fine tannin handles duck fat without overwhelming the bird.
• Thai basil stir-fried pork with jasmine rice (ผัดกะเพราหมู) — Holy basil's peppery aromatics sit close to Sangiovese's herbal side and the wine's bright acidity refreshes between bites; the moderate barrique regime means there is little sweet oak to amplify the chilli, so a standard medium-heat version works.