Marchese Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva 2012 75cl

Here is the ultimate wild card in the thick stack of aces that make up the Marchesi Antinori portfolio. It is the proverbial "jolly" (the name for the joker card in Italian) or the jack of all trades. The 2012 Chianti Classico Riserva Tenuta Tignanello can been seen as a huge provocation and that's the way I've decided to interpret it. When the Gran Selezione category was created in the Chianti Classico appellation, many important leaders hoped that the Antinori family would convert their landmark super Tuscan Tignanello into a Chianti Classico Gran Selezione wine. The Antinori clan indicated that they had no intention of removing Tignanello from its IGT Toscana status. Instead, they dedicated some fruit from the same vineyard site to this wine. The Riserva category is often seen as a stepping stone to Grand Selezione and I wonder if that is the direction this wine is headed? Will there one day be two wines from this historic vineyard: The IGT Tignanello and a Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Tenuta Tignanello? There's some food for thought. The wine is very balanced and nuanced with pretty mineral notes, followed by red cherry flavors and mild spice.  I had my doubts about the 2012 vintage until my visit to Antinori's Tenuta Tignanello in Chianti Classico. The wines presented -- and the 2012 Solaia in particular -- demonstrate that great wines were made in this challenging growing season that started off very hot and ended very cool. Marchesi Antinori General Manager Renzo Cotarella with the Marchese Piero Antinori walked me through a grand tasting of the wines they make in Umbria and various parts of Tuscany. When I got to spend some intimate time with the latest bottle of the extended Solaia family, I was absolutely smitten. The 2011 vintage was also a hot year and the Solaia showed less dimension. With the 2012 vintage, we are happily reunited with the range of nuances and depth of complexity that makes this one of Italy's A-list wines. The Antinori family owns various properties in the Chianti Classico area including Badia a Passignano, Tenuta Tignanello and Peppoli. They recently purchased a new property called San Sano not from from Castello di Ama in Gaiole-in-Chianti. The property has a potential for 84 hectares of vines and is located at 450 meters above sea level. The soils are very rocky with heavy deposits of Galestro and Alberese stone. The area is known for slow-ripening and very aromatic expressions of Sangiovese. I look forward to tasting more fruit from this site.