Antinori
Giovanni di Piero Antinori joined the Florentine Guild of Vintners in 1385, beginning an enological legacy that has lasted over 26 generations. Throughout the company's history, it has remained family-owned and operated. Today, Marchese Piero Antinori directs the long-lived family vision, and his three daughters participate in various activities with the firm. Through a comprehensive methodology comprising investments and research programs, the firm is dedicated to pursuing the continual qualitative enhancement of its wines. One of Italy's most dynamic and visionary producers, with estates concentrated in the finest and most highly progressive viticultural areas of Toscana and Umbria, Antinori has also played an important role in preserving Italy's enological traditions. Piero Antinori summarizes the family's core values in the following, “Age-old roots play an important role in our philosophy, but they have not served to inhibit our innovative spirit.”
Famed wine consultant Giacomo Tachis began his celebrated tenure with Antinori in 1961, a year that witnessed the inception of new vinification techniques (controlled temperatures, aging in bottle, and barrels comprising a range of types and styles) and the beginning of a revisionist period in the concept of Chianti (which was later actualized in various methods utilized to maximize extraction and aroma). This dynamic period of experimentation continued over the course of several years, with some of the pivotal initiatives including the use of maloactic fermentation for red wines, aging in barrique, and planting of several nonindigenous varietals.
The most tangible and compelling evocation of these progressive efforts, of course, is captured in Antinori’s extensive portfolio, which features some of Italy’s most revered and sought-after bottlings. Piero Antinori desired not to recreate a Bordeaux–style claret, but rather, to convey the versatility and finesse of the noble Sangiovese. Drawing upon the consummate skill of Giacomo Tachis, Antinori realized his conception in the form of the second official Super-Tuscan—Tignanello—debuting in 1971 as a blend of 80% Sangiovese, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Cabernet Franc. While second in the Super-Tuscan timeline, its conception entailed several inaugural efforts: It was the first modern wine of Chianti to contain a nontraditional grape—Cabernet Sauvignon—while omitting white grapes, and the premiere wine to be aged in small barrels.
Solaia—another name in Tachis’ canon— followed soon thereafter, emerging as Tignanello’s friendly estate rival virtually upon its international debut (1979). While its initial appearance (1978) enjoyed only limited release in its native land, the original composition—80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Cabernet Franc—was replicated in the ’79. After a series of slight alterations reflecting the nuances of individual vintages, Solaia’s identity emerged as today’s current blend—Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, and Cabernet Franc.
While Piero was technically the last of the family to enter Bolgheri's Maremma, the inception of the Guado al Tasso estate formally established his claim to the Maremma, as it was founded upon land inherited by his mother, Carlotta della Gherardesca Antinori. The eponymous flagship wine of Guado al Tasso (1990)—a Cabernet-Merlot-Syrah blend—provides a genuine articulation of the region and its varietal constituents.
While noted in particular for its leading contributions to the Super-Tuscan category, the Antinori family holds an eminent position in the modern history of wine. It has authored centuries of dynamic and visionary production, realized in the acquisition and development of estates concentrated in Toscana’s finest and most progressive viticultural areas—Montalcino (Pian delle Vigne), Chianti Classico (Tignanello, Badia a Passignano, Pèppoli), and Montepulciano (La Braccesca). The family has also pursued substantive expansion outside this region, establishing estates in Umbria (Castello della Sala), Piemonte (Prunotto), Puglia (Tormaresca), Hungary (Bataapati), Chile (Albis and Albaclara), Washington (Col Solare), and California (Atlas Peak), among many others. |
