Marchesi Antinori is a leading Italian producer, historically based in Tuscany, who rose to fame after creating Tignanello – one of the first Super Tuscans . Combining tradition and innovation to craft fine wine, the family-owned firm has been a force in the Italian wine industry for over 600 years.
The company can trace its history back to 1385, when Giovanni di Piero Antinori joined the Arte Fiorentina dei Vinattieri. Since then, 26 generations of the family have continued the tradition – becoming the most influential name in Italian wine. With six centuries of uninterrupted family ownership, they are the 10th oldest family-owned firm in the world.
In 1974, Piero Antinori released the first vintage of Tignanello (1971) – a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese, aged in new French barriques. While Sassicaia is the first of the Super Tuscans, Tignanello was the first to include international grape varieties. The blend and maturation meant it broke the appellation rules and therefore had to be labelled as a lowly “vino da tavola”. At the time, it was heresy – but soon producers around Tuscany were following Antinori’s lead.
Tignanello is typically a blend of 80% Sangiovese with 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc. Solaia is Tignanello’s sibling, a Cabernet-dominant blend from a particularly sunny plot on the Chianti estate. The family also owns another estate producing Super Tuscans, Guado al Tasso in Bolgheri.
The team constantly strives for perfection – looking for ways to improve in the winery and vineyard. They are renowned for constantly experimenting with varieties, different viticultural techniques, fermentation and maturation methods and more. As Piero Antinori has said, “Ancient family roots play an important part in our philosophy but they have never hindered our innovative spirit.”
They are a member of the Primum Familiae Vini (the Leading Wine Families) which currently has 11 members including Symington, Ch. Mouton Rothschild, Joseph Drouhin, Vega Sicilia, Famille Perrin, Familia Torres, Egon Muller, Famille Hugel, Domaine Clarence Dillon, Tenuta San Guido and Pol Roger. In 2008, Piero Antinori received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Wine Enthusiast for his work.
Today the company is run by Piero’s daughter Albiera, with the help of her sisters Allegra and Alessia, while Piero remains Honorary President. While originally based in Chianti, they have expanded over the years, with properties elsewhere in Tuscany (including Montepulciano, Bolgheri and Montalcino), Piedmont (Prunotto, Tenuta Montenisa), Umbria (Castello della Sala in Orvieto) and Puglia (Tormaresca). Beyond Italy’s borders, the family has also expanded with Antica in the Napa Valley, Col Solare in Washington State, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars in Napa, Haras de Pirque in Chile’s Maipo Valley and more.
