98 & 99 Point Antinori - 3 Wines, Best Ever!

STUNNING ANTINORI WINES – THE BEST EVER

"Would Italian wines exist without Antinori? Of course they would, but the quality levels we see today would not. Piero Antinori’s innovations in the world of wine were revolutionary and today we are focusing on three iconic Antinori wines from three separate estates. I sat with Alessia Antinori again this year and tasted the big guns, including 2016 Tignanello, 2016 Guado al Tasso and 2017 Cervaro, all of which are the finest examples Antinori has produced to date.

One of Bolgheri's greatest wines that often gets overshadowed by its neighbor’s Ornellaia and Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia is Guado al Tasso This wine has stepped up in quality over the past few years and is now on par with the other two legends but also at almost half the price. It was a treat. Guado al Tasso has always been a smaller allocation than Tignanello and we have just 48 bottles of this remarkable wine.

The second wine needs no introduction, the 2016 Tignanello, like the Guado al Tasso is at its best to date. We are at the end of vintage so like the Guado we have just 41 bottles and then it is gone but never forgotten.

The last Antinori gem is the 2017 Cervaro, a wine that has for a long time been considered one of the finest white wines that Italy has to offer and the 2017 vintage is the best the estate has produced. A unique blend of Chardonnay and Grechetto, this is a wine that speaks of the Umbrian countryside with its citrus notes and acacia floral aspects. Cervaro is a wine that raised the bar years ago and is still at the top of its game.

If you are searching for special wine for this holiday season, you needn’t look any further than these three extraordinary bottles." – Lance Montalto, The Wine House

Check out our CLOSEOUT wines on our website! Quantities are limited to current stock and new closeout wines are added regularly!

98 Points: "This stunning vintage of this landmark wine marks a slight adjustment to the blend. The 2016 Bolgheri Superiore Guado Al Tasso is no longer made with Petit Verdot. The blend is now 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and now 20% Cabernet Franc. This small change does not go unnoticed, as this wine is absolutely seamless now—like the finest Asian silk fabric. That profound textural softness and suppleness changes the way the wine smells and tastes, with hints of momentary sweetness that are more tactile than anything else. Generally speaking, the 2016 vintage offers more elegance (slightly less concentration) and a hair more freshness compared to the 2015 edition. When I tasted this wine, the bouquet was still timid, but it will no doubt become more expressive and open as this beautiful wine continues forward along its aging trajectory. Some 120,000 bottles were made, a remarkable feat considering the extreme quality on offer. Drink dates 2020 – 2045." – Monica Larner, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (May 2018)

98 Points: "Beautiful center palate of fruit here with ripe and silky tannins that are resolved and fine-grained. Full-bodied, polished and ever so refined. Oyster shell, stone and hints of rosemary and lavender. Driven finish. Better after 2022." – James Suckling (November 2019)

FROM THE WINERY

Classificazion: DOC

Vintage: 2016

Vinification
The grapes, upon their delivery to the cellars, were selected in two different phases: first upon their arrival and then during the destemming in order to guarantee that only the finest part of the crop went into the fermentation tanks. As in every vintage, the individual vineyard plots were sub-divided into a series of single parcels to be picked on the basis of the climate of the vintage and the characteristics of the grapes, fermenting them then separately. The grapes were then fermented fora period of 15-220 days in stainless steel tanks. After being run off its skins, the wine went directly into small oak barrels where, by the end of the year, the malolactic fermentation was completed. In the month of February the wine of the finest parcels was selected and blended together. Guado al Tasso then went back into new French oak barrels where it aged until bottling in July of 2018.

Historical Data
A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc and occasionally a small amount of Petit Verdot to best represent the complex and elegant terroir found in Bolgheri. This wine has been produced since 1990 from vineyards on alluvial soils whose composition ranges from clay-sand to clay-loam with rocky deposits known as "scheletro".

Tasting Notes
The 2016 Guado al Tasso shows an intense ruby red color. The nose expresses pleasurable notes of fruit and sweet spices: plums, blueberry jam, leather, liquorices root, and such balsamic sensations as mint, which add freshness and complexity. The palate is long and dynamic, accompanied by supple and elegant tannins and, once again, balsamic notes. A vintage, the 2016, of exceptional elegance

98 Points: "The 2016 Tignanello is flat out stunning. Dark, dense and resonant, the 2016 is a wonderfully complete wine that will provide readers with decades of pure drinking pleasure. The 2016 is especially dark and brooding, and yet the tannins are incredibly polished to the point of being perceptible. In the glass, the 2016 is complete and regal, perhaps because of the super-classic blend of 80% Sangiovese, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc. The pedigree of the vintage comes through in the wine's extraordinary balance and total sense of finesse. I don't think there is another wine anywhere in the world made entirely from estate fruit that can match Tignanello for quality, consistency and value within its peer group of top-flight reds. Drinking window 2022 – 2046." – Antonio Galloni, Vinous (August 2019)

97 Points: "To hit the market in June, the 2016 Tignanello is a rock-solid wine and a stunning beauty. The wine offers an impeccable level of precision and laser-focus delivery of fruits, spices, tilled earth, espresso beans and Mediterranean herbs. This vintage follows the classic blending formula of 80% Sangiovese with about 13% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Cabernet Franc. The vines are now 15 to 20 years old. Compared to the 2015 vintage that ultimately appeared more chewy and succulent, this expression from the iconic 2016 vintage is more vibrant, nervous and jazzed. It shows more savory spice, saltiness and minerality, with a beautifully integrated quality of tannins. Some 320,000 bottles were produced. This wine is at the top of the list of some of the best Tignanello ever made, including the vintages 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2015. Drink dates 2020 – 2045." – Monica Larner, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (May 2019)

97 Points: "A big, lush style, this red delivers pure aromas and flavors of black currant, cherry, violet, flint, tobacco and baking spices. This is supple, yet backed by a firm, dense matrix of tannins, so all the components are there, but this needs time to integrate. Lovely sweet, ripe finish. Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2022 through 2040." – Bruce Sanderson, Wine Spectator (August 2019)

99 Points: "This is big and powerful, without being ripe and heavy. So much apple, stone, and hints of toffee. Aromatic. Full-bodied, layered and framed with phenolic tension and a great finish. Muscular and agile at the same time. One of the best I have tasted. Drink or hold." – James Suckling (December 2019)

94 Points: "Thanks to the warm conditions of the vintage, the 2017 Cervaro della Sala takes us back to a time when this wine was denser, more extracted and packed with glycerin-rich fruit flavors like apricot and peach. Of course, the Antinori family has since moved beyond that style, most notably by tweaking the oak regime used on this wine. But the thickness and richness of the fruit in this dry and hot vintage takes us back in time with a hint of sweet nostalgia. This wine is fresh and spicy with stone fruit, mature apricot, honey, saffron and toasted almond. In a normal vintage, some 220,000 bottles are made, but production was lower in the 2017 vintage, resulting in 170,000 bottles instead. Drink dates 2019 - 2033." – Monica Larner, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (October 2019)

ABOUT ANTINORI

A story passed down through 26 generations
The Antinori family has been committed to the art of winemaking for over six centuries since 1385 when Giovanni di Piero Antinori became a member, of the "Arte Fiorentina dei Vinattieri", the Florentine Winemakers’ Guild. All throughout its history, twenty-six generations long, the Antinori family has managed the business directly making innovative and sometimes bold decisions while upholding the utmost respect for traditions and the environment.

Today, Albiera Antinori is the president of Marchesi Antinori with the continuous close support of her two sisters, Allegra and Alessia, all actively involved in first person in the business. Their father, Marchese Piero Antinori, is the current Honorary President of the company. Tradition, passion, and intuition are the three driving forces that led Marchesi Antinori to establish itself as one of the most important winemakers of elite Italian wine.