Tuscany
Italy's most ancient wine region, Tuscany may not be a heavyweight in terms of quantity, but as the home of two of the country's most famous fine wines – Chianti and Brunello di Montalcino – it certainly holds its own in terms of quality. Tuscany's climate ranges from Mediterranean on the coast to continental deep in the Apennines. More than two thirds of the province is covered with hills, an important terroir factor in its fine wines.
Responsible for only 6 percent of Italy's total wine production in 2006 (half that of the Veneto) Tuscany may not be a heavyweight in terms of quantity, but as the home of two of the country's most famous fine wines - Chianti and Brunello di Montalcino - it certainly holds its own in terms of quality.
Tuscany is Italy's most ancient wine region, dating back to the 8th century BC when the Etruscans developed the area in parallel with the Greeks, before ceding to the Romans. Along with building roads and sewers, they developed the region's viticultural potential, using wood for winemaking rather than amphorae, and passing their expertise onto their French neighbours. With the demise of Rome in the 5th century AD, the Longobards established Lucca as the capital of what was then known as Tuscia. Florence and Siena became banking and trading hubs during the Middle Ages, with Chianti – then a white wine – first documented in the 14th century.Tuscany passed from the Medicis to the Habsburgs as part of the Holy Roman Empire, and then onto the Austrian Empire before becoming part of a reunified Italy in 1861. The quality of Chianti was first recognised by the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Cosimo III, who classified its finest areas in 1716.
Located in the west-central part of the country with the Tyrrhenian Sea lapping its coastline, Tuscany's climate ranges from Mediterranean on the coast to continental deep in the Apennines. More than two thirds of the province is covered with hills, an important terroir factor in the production of fine Tuscan wine. The finest such areas are Chianti Classico, Chianti Rufina, Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Morellino di Scansano and Bolgheri. Sangiovese (in its various clones) is the black grape of choice.
Recommended producers: Valgiano, Caiarossa, Villa Calcinaia, Bibbiano, Badia a Coltibuono, La Serena, Scopetone, Lisini, Sesti, San Giuseppe, Cerbaiona.
Prices:
Bottle
£13.50
Katherine Dart MW - Wine Buyer, June 2017
Bottle
£15.50
Bottle 6 x 75cl 193cs
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£21.50
Bottle 6 x 75cl 11cs
Chris Pollington, Private Account Manager
Case price (Bottle 6 x 75cl)
Bottle 6 x 75cl 62cs
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Bottle 6 x 75cl 2cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 2cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Magnum 1 x 150cl 1cs
Magnum 1 x 150cl 3cs
D. Magnum 1 x 300cl 3cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Antonio Galloni - Aug-2013
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Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
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Bottle 6 x 75cl 4cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Matthew Tipping, Fine Wine Sales Manager
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Chris Pollington, Private Account Manager
Case price (Bottle 6 x 75cl)
Bottle 6 x 75cl 45cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Lots of power, concentration and a depth of ripe fruit are the hallmarks of this wine, which is rounded off with a full, tannic structure. Built to impress, this will age well. Drink 2019-2028.
Bottle
£140.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 2cs
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Bottle 6 x 75cl 3cs
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This is a Tignanello vintage with wonderful purity of fruit on the nose first and foremost. Pure, unadulterated bramble, hedgerow fruit – exquisite! Behind that initial and impressive wave of fruit there are complex layers of nutmeg, black tea and Asian spices. This continues apace on the palate, and also where the Sangiovese really comes into play. The taut structure and fine tannins build neatly through the midpalate where more layers of hoi sin, dark coffee and subtle meatiness. The finish is textbook Tignanello, refined yet focussed and wonderfully long. Drinking from 2018 onto 2030.
Gary Owen, Fine Wine
Tignanello releases are always of huge interest – a superb Super Tuscan red which still offers significant value. This 2012 release demonstrates the quality and consistency of the Antinori estate very well indeed. The nose offers generous dark fruit, black cherry and cassis with notes of clove and dried herbs. The palate is laced with fine acidity giving real energy and vibrancy, very moreish. Fine, silky and eminently approachable now, but there is more to come of course and more layers will emerge over the coming years. Drink 2018 – 2028.
Martyn Rolph, Fine Wine
Case price (D. Magnum 1 x 300cl)
D. Magnum 1 x 300cl 9cs
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Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
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Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Monica Larner - The Wine Advocate, 30th Dec 2016
Case price (D. Magnum 1 x 300cl)
D. Magnum 1 x 300cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
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Case price (Imperial 1 x 600cl)
Imperial 1 x 600cl 1cs
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Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
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Imperial 1 x 600cl 1cs
Matthew Tipping, Fine Wine Sales Manager
The 2010 Brunello di Montalcino Annata was among my favourite Brunello releases earlier this year, so I had high hopes for the 2010 riserva. It’s always immensely satisfying when those expectations are met and in this case, exceeded. An immediate superiority to the Annata is obvious on the nose, with an extra layer or two of depth, complexity and focus. The notes of ripe red fruit, spices and grilled steak are compelling and implore you to taste it. It is of course still very young, but even at this stage the concentration and impeccable balance are stunning. All of the above notes are echoed on the palate and combine to create a delightful mouth-feel and a finish which goes on for over a minute. This is a very special wine and one that will make very old bones, if you can resist drinking it while it’s still young.
Chris Pollington, Private Account Manager
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
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Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
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Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
This jewel of a Montalcino estate was first planted in 1978 by Federigo Abbarchi and Angela Corioni on marne and iron-rich, red, silt soils at 450 metres above sea-level on the north-western corner of Montalcino; bottling began in 1982 under the eye of Giulio Gambelli. Skip to 2009, and locals Loredana Tanganelli, husband Antonio and daughter Giada started to rent the 1.5-hectare gem from Angela Corioni, adding another 1.5 hectares of their own land. These smooth wines are sensitively and traditionally made using stainless steel and 33-hectolitre Pauscha Austrian oak botti.
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Local lad Andrea Mantengoli’s organic fruit, modern approach to winemaking and use of both large Slavonian barrels and small French barriques for ageing, provides a more contemporary expression of Brunello di Montalcino. Indeed so much so that we charged him with making our new own-label Brunello di Montalcino. The seven-hectare property is well located close to neighbours Cerbaiona, on the north-eastern shoulder of Montalcino, blessed with atypically white, tufo, limestone soils.
One of Montalcino’s oldest estates, dating back to the time of the Medicis, Lisini is known more recently as one of the founding fathers of the Brunello di Montalcino Consorzio of the 1960s. The Clementi-Lisini family, at the 154-hectare property near Sant’Angelo in Colle (20 hectares are under vine), make a thoroughly traditional range that builds on ancient Eocene sand, clay and iron-rich soils; wines that were first bottled in 1967. Oenologist Filippo Paoletti stands guard over the estate’s pre-eminent position.
As a result, the fruit is rich in polyphenols, thick extract and extra aromatic intensity. The 2012 vintage saw yields reduced by as much as 20%, meaning that fruit selection was even more severe in this vintage. This beautiful wine shows abundant richness and generosity with toned mineral nuances that are wrapped within bold flavors of dark fruit and spice. The wine is rich and velvety in texture.
Drink 2016-2030
94/100 points Monica Larner, eRobertParker.com #221 Oct 2015
99/100 James Suckling, Wine Advocate
Masseto, produced by Tenuta dell’Ornellaia, is among the world’s most sought after Merlots. It comes from one of Italy’s most celebrated 7 hectare plots of Merlot in Bolgheri on the Tuscan coast where the vines grow on an outcrop of pliocene clay (ideal for Merlot and not found elsewhere in Bolgheri). Its first full release was 1987, although there was a partial release in 1986, and it quickly became a cult wine revered by collectors. The 2012 vintage is a year that has produced many outstanding wines in the Super Tuscan arena and Masseto looks sure to continue that trend
Made in tiny quantities. Despite having only debuted back in 1986, Masseto has almost taken on the mystique we see with the likes of Ch. Petrus – rare, expensive, ground breaking and much sought after. Total production is circa. 2500 cases
Bottle 3 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 3 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 3 x 75cl 1cs
Tenuta dell’Ornellaia is located in one of the world’s most exciting wine regions: Bolgheri. A breathtaking avenue lined by towering cypress trees leads inland from the Aurelia, the old Roman coastal road, up to the walls of Bolgheri’s medieval hamlet. From the village the view extends far out to sea and on a clear day the islands of the Tuscan Archipelago and Corsica can be seen. The mild maritime climate and the lush Mediterranean vegetation leave an imprint upon the character of the wines. Tenuta dell’Ornellaia's unique territory guides all aspects of production: limited quantities to ensure maximum quality, attention to every detail, selective hand harvesting, microvinification and ageing.
Le Serre Nuove now receives great plaudits from the critics, Antonio Gallioni of Vinous believes that “current vintages of Le Serre Nuove are actually better wines than the early vintages of Ornellaia”, going on to say “In top vintages it is the hidden gem in this (Tenuta dell’Ornellaia’s) lineup from a price to quality perspective”. Meanwhile, James Suckling says that the 2013 is “a superb second wine from Ornellaia”.
It is immediately apparent that this comes from a top notch vintage, the beautiful aromatics could not come from anything other than perfectly ripe fruit. The nose has wonderful rich blackcurrant scents, with violets and spice adding lovely additional tones. The mouthful is silky and rich, beautifully styled, this is a wine that is going to please anyone who is lucky enough to make its acquaintance.
Matthew Tipping, Fine Wine Sales Manager
Solaia is a 50 acre (20 hectare), southwest-exposed vineyard of the Tignanello estate situated between 1150 and 1320 feet (350-400 meters) above sea level on stony soils consisting of calcareous clays and limestone rock. The Marchesi Antinori produced this wine for the first time in the 1978 vintage with a blend consisting of 80% Cbernet Sauvignon and 20% Cabernet Franc, repeating the initial production in 1979. In the following vintages 20% of Sangiovese became part of the blend and certain corrections in the ratio of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc were made as well until the current composition of the blend was defined and became definitive. Solaia is produced only in high level vintages and was not produced in 1980, 1981, 1983,1984, and 1992.
Bottle 6 x 75cl 2cs
Since its inception in 1981 Tenuta dell'Ornellaia very quickly gained international recognition and established itself as a world-class producer. Located in the medieval village of Bolgheri, made famous by the presence of the pioneering estate Tenuta San Guido, this coastal area of Tuscany had already established itself as a region whose finest vineyards were able to produce wine of the highest calibre.
It is, no doubt, a stunning landscape with towering cypress trees lining ancient Roman roads however in wine terms its proximity to the sea is key. Not only are the finest vineyards spared the highest temperatures found further inland due to cooling sea breezes, grapes ripen earlier here, often before the arrival of autumn rains, bringing a degree of consistency across vintages that should not be overlooked.
Today the wines of Tenuta dell'Ornellaia may rival those of Tenuta San Guido, notably Sassicaia, however many feel that its wines offer a more ‘international’ expression of the terroir of Bolgheri. As you would expect, the wine is produced primarily from the fruit of the estate’s younger vineyards, and aims to combine the pedigree of Ornellaia itself, with the intensity of outstanding terroir balanced by freshness and approachability.
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
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Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs