Tignanello--Vintage 1985

Offered duty paid, but available in bond. VAT at 1… Read more

AN IMPRESSIVE RANGE OF TIGNANELLO AND SOLAIA WINES FROM THE FAMOUS TUSCAN PRODUCER PIERO ANTINORI The Antinori name is indisputably synonymous with leading Italian producers of fine quality wines and in particular with the wines Solaia and Tignanello. The Antinori family has been involved in viticulture for over six hundred years with 26 generations involved wine in production. Marchese Piero Antinori, who is director of the company, has been a huge influence on the sustained success of the Antinori dynasty. A great visionary and entrepreneur he has helped propel the wines of Tuscany onto the international stage. He is ably assisted by his three daughters, Albiera, Allegra and Alessia and Renzo Cotarella, the general-manager. The Antinori wine estates are predominantly based in Tuscany, producing some excellent Chianti Classico's, (Tenute del Marchese Riserva, Santa Cristina and Badia a Passignano Riserva) and they also have some holdings in Umbria. However the wines that have made the Antinori name famous around the globe are Solaia and Tignanello. The Antinori wine estates have almost 1,400 hectares of vineyards planted in areas well suited for high quality wine production; Chianti Classico, Bolgheri, Montalcino, Orvieto, and Montepulciano .The Antinori family have also invested in projects in other areas in Italy and also abroad. Antinori have been at the forefront of innovation and continually experiment with their vineyards and cellars, with selections of native and international clones (Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc were first used commercially in the seventies), growing methods, different vineyard altitudes, fermentation methods and temperatures, traditional and modern vinification techniques, types of wood, size and age of barrels, and various bottle-ageing periods. The prime estate of Tenuta Tignanello, with its famous Tignanello and Solaia vineyards, is situated between the Greve and Pesa valleys in the heart of Chianti Classico between the little villages of Monteridolfi and Santa Maria a Macerata, which is 30km south of Florence. Tenuta Tignanello has 147 hectares of vineyards, the Tignanello vineyard is 47 hectares and the Solaia vineyard is 10 hectares. The native Sangiovese grape and the Bordeaux varieties Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc are planted at Tignanello. Other non-native varieties grown at Tignanello include small quantities of Syrah, Pinot Nero and Merlot, which were planted experimentally in the Seventies. The first Solaia vintage released was 1978 and this was a limited release only in Italy. The initial blend was 80 Cabernet Sauvignon and 20 Cabernet Franc (as was the 1979 vintage). Subsequently 20 Sangiovese was introduced and adjustments have been made depending on the vintage, to the proportions of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc used. Today's blend is 75 Cabernet Sauvignon, 5 Cabernet Franc and 20 Sangiovese. Solaia has not always been produced every vintage (no production in the 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984 and 1992 vintages), which adds to the appeal and collectability of this stellar performing wine. Tignanello could be considered as one of the original "Super Tuscan". It was the first Sangiovese based wine to be aged in small oak barrels, the first modern red Italian wine to use a non-traditional grape variety, Cabernet, in the blend, and it was among one of the first red wines made in Chianti with no white grapes in the blend. The first vintage produced was in 1970 and the blend consisted of 75 Sangiovese, 20 Canaiolo and 5 Trebbiano and Malvasia (it was actually labeled as a Chianti Classico Riserva; Vigneto Tignanello). Since then Tignanello has broken the mould of traditional Tuscan wine making practices, eliminating white grapes from the blend by 1975. Since the 1982 vintage, the blend has consisted of 80 Sangiovese, 15 Cabernet Sauvignon and 5 Cabernet Franc. Tignanello was not produced in the 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1984 and 1992 vintages.

1 magnum per lot

Details

Lying in Twickenham, Middlesex (EHD)

Offered duty-paid, but available in bond
Tignanello--Vintage 1985
Tuscany. Piero Antinori
Lot 240 bin-soiled label. Lot 241 five bin-soiled and three slightly stained labels
1 magnum per lot

Special notice

Offered duty paid, but available in bond. VAT at 17.5% will be charged on the hammer price on removal of the lot from bond.

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