Marchese Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva 2022 75cl
The Marchese Antinori Riserva is the family putting its own name on the label, which in six hundred years of winemaking is not something they do lightly. The 2022 is Sangiovese from the estate's best Chianti Classico parcels, with a touch of Cabernet, and it carries the weight you would expect of a wine that answers to the marquis himself.
This sits at the top of Antinori's Chianti Classico range below the single-vineyard Gran Selezione, drawn from the historic heartland of the appellation between Florence and Siena. The 2022 vintage in Tuscany ran warm and dry, giving concentrated, ripe fruit that the Riserva ageing in oak has framed rather than smothered.
In the glass you get dark cherry and black plum, dried herbs, a lick of leather and tobacco, and cedar from the barrel. The tannins are firm and fine-grained, the acidity taut, and the finish long and savoury. There is real Tuscan structure here — the kind that rewards patience.
At around £44 this is a proper occasion Chianti, generous now with air but genuinely built for the cellar. It will drink beautifully over the next eight to ten years, softening into something more mellow and complex.
How to Serve
Serve at 17–18°C in a large Burgundy-style bowl. Decant for a full hour; the 2022 is still young and opens up considerably with air.
Where to Drink It
Locanda Locatelli, Marylebone — refined Italian cooking for a serious Riserva. Cecconi's, Mayfair — for the occasion. Theo Randall at the InterContinental — Tuscan-inspired plates that suit the structure.
Food Pairings
A rosemary-crusted rack of lamb is the classic move here. It is equally at home with a Florentine bistecca and a scatter of good salt.
