Summary
Marchesi Antinori is one of the oldest and most influential wine houses in the world. The family has been making wine since 1385 – today in its 26th generation. It owes its global reputation above all to its role as pioneer of the Super Tuscans: with the Tignanello (from 1971) and the Solaia, Antinori deliberately broke with the rigid Chianti rules and founded a new class of top Tuscan wines. Across around 2,700 hectares of its own vines and numerous estates in Italy and internationally, Antinori is also a major estate owner whose icons come from its own vineyards.
History
The wine history of the Antinori family begins in 1385, when Giovanni di Piero Antinori joined the Florentine winemakers' guild. Since then the house has been continuously family-owned – across around six and a half centuries and 26 generations. This makes Antinori one of the oldest family businesses in the world.
The defining figure of the modern era is Marchese Piero Antinori, who led the house for decades and revolutionised Italian wine with the Tignanello from 1971. Instead of the white grapes prescribed at the time, he opted for pure red-wine character and complemented the Sangiovese with Cabernet Sauvignon – a break with the rules that triggered an entire movement. Today his three daughters Albiera, Allegra and Alessia are leading the house into the future.
Location & Terroir
The family's ancestral seat lies in Florence, with the representative estate Antinori nel Chianti Classico in the heart of Chianti Classico near San Casciano in Val di Pesa. From here a network of estates stretches across the whole of Tuscany and beyond.
The terroirs are correspondingly varied: the calcareous marl soils (Galestro and Alberese) of Chianti Classico produce taut, long-lived Sangiovese wines, while the maritime, gravelly-loamy soils of Bolgheri on the Tuscan coast offer ideal conditions for Cabernet and Merlot. In Umbria, in turn, a renowned white wine is produced on the cooler heights of the Castello della Sala.
Style & Philosophy
Antinori combines tradition and innovation like hardly any other house. On the one hand the family cultivates Sangiovese and the classic Tuscan wine culture; on the other, with its bold use of international varieties and modern cellar technology, it has redefined the image of top-quality Italian wine.
The philosophy is geared towards quality and longevity: careful vineyard work, low yields and precise ageing, often in barrique. This gives rise both to classic, origin-driven wines like the Chianti Classico and to the concentrated, world-famous Super Tuscans. This dual role – guardian and innovator at once – shapes the house's style to this day.
Notable Sites & Wines
Antinori unites a wealth of important estates and wines under one name. Among the best known are:
- Tignanello – the trailblazing Super Tuscan from the eponymous estate in Chianti Classico
- Solaia – Cabernet-dominated cult wine from the same site
- Guado al Tasso – the estate in Bolgheri on the Tuscan coast
- Castello della Sala – home of the white wine Cervaro della Sala in Umbria
- Villa Antinori and Pèppoli – classic Chianti Classico wines
- Badia a Passignano – historic monastery estate in Chianti Classico
Awards
Antinori has been among the highest-rated wine houses in Italy for decades; wines like Tignanello and Solaia regularly receive top scores from the international trade press. Far beyond individual awards, however, the family has written wine history: with the Super Tuscan movement, Antinori has lastingly changed the international standing of Italian wine and is still regarded today as one of the defining houses of the wine world.