Tignanello, Toscana 2022 - 75cl

Tignanello is the wine that rewrote the rules. When Antinori first aged Sangiovese in French barriques and blended in Cabernet back in the 1970s, it broke every Chianti convention going and had to be sold as a humble table wine — and in doing so it invented the Super Tuscan. Half a century on it is one of Italy's most famous reds, still made from a single hillside vineyard in the Chianti Classico zone and still labelled, almost cheekily, as Toscana IGT.

The 2022 is 78% Sangiovese with 18% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Cabernet Franc, aged in mostly new French oak for over a year before bottle. It was a drought vintage — the driest in memory — rescued by late-summer rain, and the well-drained Tignanello slope came through with fruit of real concentration.

The result is darker and more brooding than usual, yet fresher than a hot year would lead you to expect: ripe black cherry and bramble, blood orange, violet and a streak of graphite. The palate is full and pure, with silky, supple tannins, bright acidity and a long, savoury close. It drinks well already but has decades in it.

A benchmark bottle — for a celebration, or to see what the fuss has always been about.

How to Serve

Serve at 17-18°C. Decant one to two hours before serving; it is young and concentrated. A large Bordeaux glass gives it room. Drinking from now well into the 2040s.

Where to Drink It

Scott's in Mayfair, for a night that warrants it. The River Cafe, where it meets Italian cooking as a peer. Wiltons, for old-school occasion.

Food Pairings

A dry-aged ribeye, simply grilled, matches its polish and grip. Or venison with juniper if you want to lean into the darker fruit.