At 25 years of age, the 1999 Tignanello is a masterpiece.

Antinori’s Tignanello was a revolutionary, ground-breaking, and paradigm-shifting wine when it was released in the 1970s. Although the use of small French oak barrels (barriques), the incorporation of Cabernet in the blend, and the elimination of white grapes is now common in Chianti Classico, those ideas were unheard of at that time. Tignanello changed that. It was the first Sangiovese-based wine to be aged in barriques, as well as the first Chianti Classico-based wine to use non-traditional grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend. It was also among the first wines in the Chianti Classico region to eliminate white grapes—which had been mandated by Chianti Classico regulations—from inclusion.

I don’t think I’m overstating the matter when stating that Tignanello was, in great measure, responsible for the transformation of Chianti Classico from thin, acidic, mediocre stuff to wine of substance and stature. In retrospect, it showed how a focus on Sangiovese and Cabernet, along with the elimination of white grapes, could produce great wine.

Tignanello, one of the original Super-Tuscans, comes from Antinori’s 319-hectare (788-acre) Tenuta Tignanello estate located in San Casciano, the heart of Chianti Classico between the Greve and Pesa River valleys. Roughly half of the estate is devoted to vines, which also provide the grapes for Antinori’s Solaia, a Cabernet-dominant blend. The soil is rich in limestone and schist because of its marine location during the Pliocene era, 2.6 to 5.3 million years ago, while its elevation at between 350 – 400 meters (1150 to 1300 feet) provides excellent diurnal temperature variation critical for ripening grapes while maintaining their acidity.

Tignanello started life in 1970 as a Chianti Classico Reserva DOC “Vigneto Tignanello,” a traditional blend of Sangiovese, Canaiolo, and ten percent of two white grapes, Trebbiano and Malvasia, as required by the regulations at the time for Chianti Classico. A year later, in 1971, Antinori reduced the percentage of white grapes to less than the minimum of ten percent. No longer meeting the Chianti Classico regulations for a DOC wine, he bottled it under the Vino da Tavola designation and labeled it simply, Tignanello. Antinori opted not to make Tignanello in 1972, ’73, or ’74 because its quality did not meet their standards. With the 1975 vintage, Antinori eschewed the white grapes entirely. Since the 1982 vintage, the blend has remained more or less constant at Sangiovese (80 percent), Cabernet Sauvignon (15 percent), and Cabernet Franc. Since 1992, it has been bottled under the IGT Toscana designation.

The 1999 Tignanello, consumed recently during dinner, was magnificent, leading with captivating aromatics. The empty glass still retained a gorgeous scent. A seamless combination of minerals, earth, and floral elements exploded and persisted, seemingly forever, once this mid-weight wine hit the palate. Its silky suave texture just added to its stature. It had developed captivating complexity yet was still youthful and fresh. Both elegant and substantial, the 1999 Tignanello has miles to go before it sleeps. 98 pts. Drink now – 2045.