A few weeks ago I did a small pre-release tasting with the head winemaker of Antinori, Renzo Cotarella. Renzo oversees the winemaking in all the estates in the world, particularly Tuscany and Umbria. It covered three of their soon-to-be-released icon wines: Tignanello, Guado Al Tasso and Cervaro della Sala.
Renzo was especially happy with the quality of his 2013 reds throughout Italy but focusing on Tuscany. He said that the wines showed impressive richness and fruit with polished and linear tannins that give the wines definition and focus. He admitted that I didn’t anticipate this just after the harvest and the wines had really improved in the barrel.
“The 2013 was a little cooler than 2012,” he pointed out. “The acidity is a little bit more pronounced. It’s more towards the elegance than the power.”
Elegance, length, and richness are certainly the wine characteristics I get excited about. The 2013 Tignanello is the best I have tasted ever. Cotarella said the fantastic quality may be due to the age of the vines as many were replanted around the turn of the century on their estate in Chianti Classico.
I also tasted Antinori’s most recently bottled top wine from the coastal region of Bolgheri – Guado Al Tasso. It has to be one of the top released, and it continues to show more precision and finesse in winemaking.
The chardonnay-based white with a touch of grechetto – Cervaro della Sala – was another excellent bottle showing that it is one of the top whites of Italy with so much complexity and mouthfeel.
If you are a subscriber, check out the tasting notes. If not, buy some and enjoy the quality.
Marchesi Antinori Umbria Cervaro Della Sala 2014
Marchesi Antinori Toscana Tignanello 2013
Marchesi Antinori Bolgheri Superiore Guado Al Tasso 2013
Photos from top to bottom: Marchesi Antinori Toscana Tignanello 2013 and Marchesi Antinori Bolgheri Superiore Guado Al Tasso 2013
