If you have ever opened a bottle of Chianti, or actually just any Italian red wine, then chances are you have opened a bottle of Marchesi Antinori. A massive estate that eloquently expresses the art of made in Italy winemaking, those who say super Tuscan say Antinori.

An incredible 26-generation history underscores this mythic vineyard, so to say it has a deep-rooted history is no understatement. The family have been in the winemaking business since 1385, and these 630-plus years have helped them hone their vinicultural vision. Today it is Piero Marchesi who runs the show. A legend in his own right, he says “Ancient family roots play an important part in our philosophy but they have never hindered our innovative spirit.” Located mainly in Chianti Classico (about 20-minutes outside of Florence), Piero’s vineyards have all the trappings of Tuscan fantasy: row upon row of neatly planted vines, gently sloping south-west facing hills and magnificent cypress trees flanking a terracotta-tiled rustic farmhouse. A slightly incongruous but nonetheless spectacularly groovy gravity-flow winery completes this bucolic idyll.

A massive 1,200 hectares of terroir produces 20 million (yes, million) bottles a year across 150 different labels and price ranges. The most famous of these is the Tiganello (it’s also the 26th most searched for wine on wine-searcher.com). Astonishingly, Marchesi Antinori's flagship wine wasn’t produced until 1970, a far cry from the 20,000-30,000 case annual production today. The standard blend is 80% Sangiovese, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc, although some tweaks have been made in the recipe of late. Not the vineyards most expensive, (that would be the Tenuta Guado al Tasso Matarocchio, approximately €350 in Q2 2019), certain vintages showed terrific growth in 2017, notably the 2006 (37.8%), 2008 (33.6%) and 2007 (33.1%) and according to Liv-ex, all Antinori’s Tiganellos showed a minimum increase of +27%, outstripping the rest of Italian red wines at “just” 13% year on year.