50 years of Tignanello Antinori: 40 “ex cellar” lots at Christie’s auction, featuring all vintages

Tignanello by Marchesi Antinori is one of the most iconic wines of Italy. A wine that is a milestone, whose first vintage, dating back to 1971, was presented exactly fifty years ago, in 1974, for this reason, it was a wine capable of anticipating the times, an innovation which became a tradition, contributing to the beginning of the “Renaissance” of Italian wine, giving life to the now famous movement of “Super Tuscan”, and that of Italian fine wines, of which it was the first example. An anniversary, that, now, Marchesi Antinori celebrates in a very peculiar way: with an auction involving the most complete vertical of wine ever provided by an Italian wine producer, “ex-cellar”, directly from the winery of Tenuta Tignanello, with all its vintages, from 1971 to 2024, which will be auctioned off at Christie’s. The event will be in London, on November 26-27, at Christie’s King Street, with the auction “Finest & Rarest Wines Featuring Tignanello’s 50th Anniversary Collection Direct from The Estate”.
“This exceptional auction will feature nearly all the vintages ever produced of Tignanello, an iconic wine and a milestone in winemaking, including the first vintage of 1971 (presented in 1974), as well as a never-before-seen barrel of the 2024 vintage, the first time ever for Christie’s by an Italian wine producer”, it is explained in an Antinori-Christie’s note. Also a selection of big formats at the auction, starting from Magnum to 12-liter Balthazar. “With 40 lots coming from the winery of Tuscan property directly, each of them narrates the history and the stylistic evolution of one of the most well-known and appreciated wines in the world. The collection embraces all fifty years of Tignanello, from 1971 to 2021, and it includes an extraordinary selection of all the produced vintages, excluding1975, showcased in different formats, including Magnum, double Magnum, and an original 15-liter Nabuchodonosor, the first and unique ever produced for Tignanello”. The collection includes: three bottles of the first vintage 1971, never made available until now by Marchesi Antinori for an auction: these very rare bottles represent a crucial moment in the history of Italian wine.
Again, a special lot dedicated to the 50 years of Tignanello: this exclusive lot (with an estimate of between 10,000 and 30,000 pounds, ed) features the 2021, a vintage marking 50 years of Tignanello, with a complete collection of six bottles, a Magnum, a Double Magnum, a six-liter Mathusalem and a twelve-liter Balthazar. Moreover, the lot includes a private visit at Tenuta Tignanello, including wine tasting, lunch, dinner, and an overnight stay in the property. Additionally, the buyer of this lot will move with a round-trip flight on a private Flexjet Praetor 600 jet, from the leaving point preselected in Europe to Florence. This exclusive trip, on board one of its luxury airplanes, is supplied by Flexjet, world leader in private aviation. Once on board, hosts can experiment the exclusive services and comforts, which allowed Flexjet to become one of the main suppliers of services of fractional ownership of airplanes, leasing and jet card in the world. Once again, a 225-liter oak barrel of vintage 2024 will be auctioned off (the catalogue estimate is between 24,000 and 50,000 pounds, ed), kept in the winery of the property: “the buyer will have the possibility to choose to realize the formats he/she prefers, as well as receive an unprecedented 15-liter Nabuchodonosor, the only one with these dimensions ever realized by Tignanello. All the bottles that will be produced from the 2024 vintage barrel can be personalized”.
“2024 has been a really important year for my family and me  -comments Piero Antinori, pioneer of Italian wine, and guiding the wine company, which, today, sees his daughters Albiera, Allegra and Alessia with ceo Riccardo Cotarella at the head of it.-  as it gave us the opportunity to pay homage to a wine, that, in these last 50 years, really gave us so much. To conclude this special year in the best possible way, we are pleased to offer to our wine enthusiasts, a unique selection of our Tignanello, made available directly from the winery, including the very rare 1971 vintage, and the preview of the last vintage, 2024. It was a pleasure to collaborate with Christie’s for this auction”.
Tim Triptree, International Director of Wine at Christie’s and Master of Wine, adds: “we are really glad to present a unique opportunity to purchase very rare bottles, and unique formats of Tignanello, made available directly from the historical Tuscan property. Moreover, the most historic vintages of Tignanello, from 1971 to 1989, have been recently checked, reconditioned, and retopped again, and are therefore guaranteed to be in perfect condition for lucky buyers. It was a pleasure to work with Marchesi Antinori, in order to bring to the auction this extraordinary collection on the occasion of the 50 years of Tignanello”.