The Auswine Forum

Our club had a Tignanello vertical the other night. To taste were the following vintages: 03,04,05,07,08,09,10,11. Pretty consistent on the nose, mostly red fruit, licorice, tobacco, cedar. The younger ones (10,11) needed more airtime, but exhibited some blue/black berries similar to the 07 to 09. For good reason, for the oldest ones (03,04 and 05) incorporated 85% Sangiovese, 10% Cab Sauvignon and 5% Cab Frank while the later vintages saw the reduction of the Sangiovese component to 80% with increment of Cab S. One of the favorites of the night, the 09, had only 75% Sangiovese with substantial increase in Cab S. When it was first released in 2012, my wine store gave me a taste of it (I never had a Tig before) and really I did not make any friend by commenting that it tasted like Aussie wine. Turns out through checking that that Antinori method of production (in their super modern, brand new facilities) for this vintage was "pump over", more oxygenation for softer tannin! Although all vintages were well structured, they all seemed a bit austere except for the later years. Somehow, I did enjoy the 03, plenty of life, not overly exhuberant with gentle red fruit and crispy tannin. I will have to open either of my 00 or 01 soon! Maybe I would recover the old Tig mystique.

Thanks for the post. Tignanello first appeared on my horizon when a wine store told me about the Super Tuscan phenomenon and that Tignanello was one of the wines at the forefront. That was in the late 80s and the vintage on the shelf was the 1982. It wasn't long after that I tasted the 1990 vintage and bought a few bottles for C$30 (almost the same as the Australian dollar). I tried a bottle when it was a little over 15 years of age but felt it was in a dumb phase, which should not have come as a surprise because good Chianti riservas can age for several decades. Since then the only vintage I have bought was the 2005 vintage mainly because a good price seduced me. However with the price now hovering around the hundered dollar mark I'm not sure it is worth it. Better value, in my opinion, would be a good Chianti riserva.

How was the 2005 vintage of the Tignanello?

Cheers ............. Mahmoud.

Hi Mahmoud
As for the 05, my notes for the night mentioned that it kept its character (red fruit, smoke, spices etc) and it stood a touch better than the 04 which had weak structure (a touch watery maybe). The critics wrote exactly the opposite! Perhaps the effect of ageing? Nevertheless, both 04 and 05 had much softer tannins than the 03, which showed me more of the older character.
Cheers... Dac.

Yes, the reviews for the '05 were not bad, but if I recall it was praised as being almost or nearly as good as the '04 which was from a better vintage. These days I focus not on vintages but on the reputation of the producer. The vintage then dictates when the wine will be optimal.

Thanks ............ Mahmoud.

Ah, I have the ‘04, purchased quite recently.
I’ve effectively given up buying Tig, due to its extravagant pricing.
Intriguingly, Hugh Johnson Guide describes it as one of the biggest ‘cash cows’ of the vinous world.

Mark Carrington wrote:Ah, I have the ‘04, purchased quite recently.
I’ve effectively given up buying Tig, due to its extravagant pricing.
Intriguingly, Hugh Johnson Guide describes it as one of the biggest ‘cash cows’ of the vinous world.

Quite some time ago, as the price stated to inch up the owner of a fine wine store here in Edmonton also thought that the Tignanello was over-priced and not good value. It's always appealing to acquire a back vintage, and the '04 is already 13 years old, so I assume you got the Tignanello at keen price.

Mahmoud.

Drank a 2013 last year. It got crucified by a 2010 Stonyridge Larose. Yes it was young (both were in fact) but I just didn't get the Tig