Tasting notes: silky, ripe, mellow fruit, still with firm, sleek tannins

Tignanello was the great, rule-breaking red that caused a revolution in Tuscan winemaking in the 1970s. This same estate makes this lavish Chianti Classico Riserva. Sangiovese with Merlot and Cabernet, long aged in oak. Elegant, savoury and intense.

The Antinori family are one of the most famous in all Italy. They've been crafting exceptional wines for 26 generations, since 1385 when the original Giovanni di Piero Antinori joined a winemakers guild. More recently, in the early 1970s, Marchese Piero Antinori challenged Tuscan tradition by introducing Bordeaux grapes, Cabernet and Merlot, and ageing in French oak barriques. It caused a major controversy and a revolution in the region's winemaking. Today, small amounts of Merlot and both Cabernets are permitted in DOCG wines. This Chianti Classico Riserva is a superb, expressive wine, with red fruits, subtle oak, and savoury notes of tobacco and leather. For drinking now, open early and decant. A great match for bistecca Fiorentina.