The 2022 growing season in Chianti Classico saw lower-than-average levels of rainfall up until the month of August. Overall, spring and summer were hot, while the months of June and July experienced temperatures that were higher than seasonal averages for the region. Despite these climatic conditions, the vines were able to regulate their growth cycle, ensuring normal budbreak and flowering, and continued to show remarkable resilience during the hottest months: when the berries reached veraison, both vegetative development and overall yields were ideal. Mid-August brought rain showers and lower temperatures that restored excellent temperature swings between day and night, prompting an ideal ripening phase. Exceptionally favorable climatic conditions during the fall ensured that the harvested fruit was of outstanding quality. The grape harvest took place mid-September for Sangiovese and Cabernet Franc, while Cabernet Sauvignon was picked the first week of October.

This growing season’s climate trends challenged us to be focused and diligent both in the vineyards during harvesting activities and when grapes were brought to the cellar, where sorting operations and initial winemaking processes were essential to achieve optimal results. During fermentation in truncated conical tanks, each individual must was macerated on the skins, giving particular emphasis to preserving aromas, extracting color, and encouraging desirable tannins that were supple and elegant. Racking was performed after rigorous daily sampling and tasting. Once separated from the skins, the wine was transferred into small oak barrels where it underwent malolactic fermentation to accentuate aromatic finesse and complexity. Aging took place in French oak barrels and a small percentage in Hungarian oak, predominantly new barrels, for a total period of just over 13 months; after an initial period ofaging the lots separately, they were blended and then completed barrel aging. Tignanello, crafted mainly with Sangiovese and a small percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, underwent an additional 12-month period of aging in the bottle before being released.

Tignanello is produced exclusively from the vineyard of the same name, a parcel of some 190 acres (77 hectares) with limestone-rich soils and a southwestern exposure at 1150-1325 feet (350-400 meters) above sea level at the Tignanello estate. It was the first Sangiovese wine to be aged in small oak barrels, the first modern red wine to use such non-traditional varietiesas Cabernet in the blend, and among the first red wines from the Chianti Classico area to be produced without white grapes. The wine, originally called “Chianti Classico Riserva Vigneto Tignanello” (a Chianti Classico Riserva from the Tignanello vineyard), was produced for the first time from asingle vineyard parcel in 1970, when the blend contained 20% of Canaiolo and 5% of Trebbiano and Malvasia, both white grapes, and the wine aged in small oak barrels. In 1971 it became a Tuscan red table wine rather than a Chianti Classico, and was called Tignanello. In the 1975 vintage the percentage of white grapes was definitively eliminated from the blend. Ever since 1982, the blend has been the one currently used.

Tignanello is bottled only in favorable vintages, and was not produced in 1972, 1973,1974, 1976, 1984, 1992, and 2002. Tignanello 2022 is intensely ruby red in color with purple hues. The wine opens impressively with aromas of cherries, ripe black cherries and pomegranate seeds with delicate notes of violets that lead to fresh balsamic hints. The bouquet is completed by elegant hints of vanilla and cotton candy. Supple, savory tannins impart a dynamic impact on the palate, dense yet fresh. The wine closes with a lengthy finish that echoes aromas perceived on the nose.