City Social, London

Bringing together leading figures from the UK trade, Berkmann’s masterclass at City Social focused on a rarely explored facet of Marchesi Antinori’s portfolio: its North and South American estates. Spanning from Washington State to the Maipo Valley in Chile, the tasting invited sommeliers and wine buyers to explore Antinori’s international vision through Cabernet Sauvignon’s lens—interpreted in radically different geographies, climates, and cultures. With commentary from Renzo Cotarella and Vittorio Antinori, and moderation by Alex Hunt MW, the session offered not just a tasting, but a conversation about identity, precision, and patience in fine winemaking.

Beyond Italy: The Antinori Vision in the Americas

Marchesi Antinori’s presence in the Americas began as a search for terroir rather than scale. The estates selected—Col Solare (Washington), Haras de Pirque (Chile), and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars (Napa Valley)—share little in terms of geography, but all reflect a commitment to crafting wines that express a clear sense of place. As Vittorio Antinori emphasised, the aim is not to impose an Italian style abroad, but to invest in local understanding, viticultural refinement, and wines that speak natively of their origin.

Renzo Cotarella reinforced this point, noting that “it’s not a matter of technicality—making fine wine requires culture.” The task is not just production, but transmission: of local knowledge, of restraint, and of nuance. Across these estates, the work has involved extensive replanting, shifts in extraction philosophy, and deep collaboration with resident teams. The results are increasingly evident.

Red Mountain, Refined: The Evolution of Col Solare

Among the most surprising wines of the tasting was Col Solare 2019. Grown in the Red Mountain AVA of eastern Washington, this Cabernet-dominant blend has historically been powerful, if austere—built more for structure than charm. The 2019 vintage marks a turning point, displaying vibrancy and finesse alongside the expected concentration. “This is the first vintage I’m truly happy with,” Cotarella admitted, crediting a change in extraction methods and a greater focus on elegance over muscle.

Red Mountain’s high-desert conditions—low rainfall, sandy soils, and significant wind—offer both opportunity and challenge. The key, Cotarella explained, is not in ripening but in how to manage tannin and stress. 2019 achieves what earlier vintages sometimes struggled with: a Cabernet that’s deep and structured, yet also lifted and civilised.

A New Benchmark from Chile: Pitío at Haras de Pirque

The standout wine of the tasting—and its most significant debut—was Pitío, the new prestige cuvée from Haras de Pirque in Chile’s Maipo Andes. With only 3,029 bottles produced from the 2022 vintage, Pitío represents a major step forward in the estate’s repositioning. A single-parcel wine vinified in small stainless-steel tanks and aged in new French oak, it captures both the intensity and freshness that define the best high-altitude Cabernet.

The vineyard sits on the north-east side of the estate, with ideal exposure and significant diurnal shifts—daytime highs around 33–35°C falling to single digits at night. These conditions extend the growing season and preserve acidity, resulting in a wine of tension, aromatic purity, and fine tannins. With 5% Cabernet Franc adding lift, Pitío is polished, precise, and built to age.

For Vittorio Antinori, it’s also personal: “This is the first wine led by a member of the 27th generation,” she noted. The name—Pitío—is derived from the Chilean flicker bird often seen at the vineyard. More than symbolism, the wine is a statement of intent: that Maipo Andes, when handled with the right sensitivity, can stand alongside the finest expressions of Cabernet in the world.

From Heritage to Stewardship: Stag’s Leap and the Napa Legacy

The final chapter of the tasting moved to Napa Valley and one of its most hallowed estates: Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars. Now under full Antinori ownership, the estate remains iconic for its historical victory at the 1976 Judgment of Paris—but the focus now is firmly on the future.

The tasting compared FAY and SLV (2016 and 2019), followed by the flagship CASK 23. Where SLV offers muscle and depth, FAY is more perfumed, textural, and open. Together, they form the basis of CASK 23, a wine that blends power with restraint. Importantly, as Cotarella noted, CASK 23 will not be made in every vintage; stylistic integrity—not consistency for its own sake—is the goal.

A recent acquisition in Coombsville ensures a greater degree of estate fruit for Artemis and further solidifies Antinori’s long-term commitment to Napa. The ambition is clear: not only to preserve a legacy, but to continue redefining what elegance can look like in a warm-climate Cabernet.

Conclusion

This tasting was not about declaring one region superior to another. Instead, it illustrated what happens when a family known for centuries of winemaking in Tuscany chooses to listen—to the soil, the climate, and the culture of places far from home. Whether through the newfound refinement of Col Solare, the ambition of Pitío, or the legacy of Stag’s Leap, the Antinori estates in the Americas are evolving beyond origin stories into benchmarks in their own right.

For enquiries about current availability of the wines featured in the tasting please contact your Berkmann account manager or email antinori.team@berkmann.co.uk.