Marchesi Antinori's Cortona Syrah from the sunniest blocks of Tenuta La Braccesca: 100% Syrah aged in French oak barriques. Black pepper, dark berry, violet and Virginia tobacco over velvety, supple tannins. A polished, age-worthy Tuscan red.
Vivino drinkers return to black pepper, plum and blackberry over vanilla, oak and Virginia tobacco across more than 1,200 reviews. This is Antinori's Cortona Syrah from Tenuta La Braccesca, fermented in stainless steel and aged in French oak barriques for a polished, supple style.
Bramasole opens with black pepper, violet and ripe plum, the spicy, floral signature of Cortona Syrah that Antinori's own notes flag. Vanilla, coffee and Virginia tobacco follow from ageing in French oak barriques, the oaky register Vivino drinkers cite most across more than 1,200 reviews.
Violet
Blackberry
Plum
Tobacco
Leather
Black pepper
Liquorice
VanillaFull-bodied and dense yet polished, with velvety, supple tannins built by roughly 15 days of gentle skin maceration on the clay-loam slopes of Tenuta La Braccesca. Blackberry and dark plum carry a peppery, leathery edge at 14.5%, closer to a modern, oak-framed Syrah than a rustic one.
The finish is long and warming, echoing the vanilla, liquorice and spice of the nose, with enough grip to hold a few more years in the cellar.
A polished, premium Cortona Syrah that Vivino's crowd rates around 4.2 across more than 7,000 ratings. Antinori's La Braccesca benchmark drinks well now but rewards short-term cellaring; one for dark-fruit and oak lovers rather than seekers of rustic bite.
A premium single-estate Cortona DOC Syrah from Marchesi Antinori, stocked by a handful of UK merchants from about 45 pounds. The vintages here, 2019, 2021 and 2022, are each 75cl of 100% Syrah grown on the clay-loam slopes of Tenuta La Braccesca near Cortona.
Built for the table and a few years of cellaring rather than a weeknight pour, this is a structured, oak-aged Syrah that scores for food and occasion over everyday value, given its premium price from about 45 pounds.
Full-bodied, peppery Syrah with supple tannin and bright acidity is a strong partner for grilled and braised red meat, game and aged cheese, though it overwhelms light dishes.
A polished, prestige-producer Cortona Syrah from Marchesi Antinori at a premium price, well suited to a celebratory meal or as a considered gift.
Up to eighteen months in French oak barriques and dense but supple tannins give roughly a decade of cellar potential; serious for Cortona Syrah, though short of Tuscany's longest-lived Sangiovese.
Approachable for a premium red, with soft tannins and an oaky, dark-fruit profile that is easy to like, but the 45-pound price and structure make it a step-up bottle rather than a first wine.
Scoring is rule-based and deterministic. The model and weightings are documented in our editorial methodology.
A compact view of what the Cortona denomination actually requires, and how this bottle sits inside it. Pulled from the official Italian disciplinare.
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Three vintages sit together here: the acclaimed, balanced 2019 harvested from mid-September; the concentrated, low-yield 2021; and the warm, dry 2022 that suited a heat-tolerant Syrah. Each is 100% Syrah from Antinori's La Braccesca estate in Cortona.
A hot, dry 2022 suited Syrah, a heat-tolerant variety, giving ripe, generous dark fruit; a touch more approachable in youth while still carrying the estate's firm, oak-framed structure.
A low-yielding, concentrated 2021 across Tuscany after a cool start and a warm, dry summer; expect a denser, more structured Bramasole that rewards a few years in the cellar.
An acclaimed, balanced 2019 in central Tuscany: a cool, wet spring delayed the vines before a warm summer brought healthy, slightly smaller berries, harvested from 18 September. Polished and structured, it drinks well now and will hold.
Drink-now / hold guidance reflects general style cues for this wine, not a forecast for a specific bottle. Where vintage-level editorial notes exist, they appear above.
Marchesi Antinori planted Syrah, an untraditional variety for Tuscany, on the sunniest blocks of the 334-hectare Tenuta La Braccesca, owned by the family since 1990. First made in 2000, Bramasole helped establish Cortona DOC as Italy's reference address for premium Syrah.
Italian wine law sorts bottles into a pyramid. DOCG sits at the top: tightly drawn boundaries, prescribed grapes, mandatory ageing, government tasting before release. DOC is the same idea with looser thresholds. IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) is broader still, requiring only that 85% of the grapes come from the named territory.
Cortona is in the DOC tier. That is not a quality verdict, it is a description of how much freedom the producer has at vinification and ageing.
Cortona falls within Tuscany , covering Tuscany.
A blue-chip Tuscan producer and a single-estate Cortona Syrah; UK merchant prices for the vintages here run from about 45 pounds, a premium over generic Cortona DOC.
Bramasole is selected from the sunniest parcels of Tenuta La Braccesca on clay-loam soil, one of Cortona's best sites for premium Syrah, which limits volume and lifts cost.
Ageing in new and second-fill French oak barriques for up to eighteen months ties up capital and barrel cost long before the wine is bottled and sold.
Roughly fifteen days of gentle skin maceration and temperature-controlled fermentation at 28C are labour and time intensive versus a faster, simpler red.
UK excise duty of 2.67 pounds a bottle on still wine up to 15% ABV, plus 20% VAT, adds roughly 10 pounds of tax to a 45-pound bottle before any retailer margin.
Cortona is a small, less-famous DOC than Brunello or Chianti Classico, so Bramasole costs less than a similarly made wine carrying a marquee Tuscan appellation.
Dishes that complement this wine
Full body, dark fruit and a peppery, leathery edge point to grilled and braised red meat and game. Antinori's own table leans Tuscan, from the Fiorentina to slow ragu, while the wine's acidity carries it through aged hard cheese.
Bramasole's full body and dense, French-oak-framed tannins stand up to charred, fatty Tuscan beef, while its black-pepper edge echoes a cracked-peppercorn crust on the meat.
Try with: Fiorentina steak · Cotoletta alla bolognese · Brasato al Barolo · More pairings →
The wine's supple but dense tannins, built on roughly fifteen days of skin maceration, soften further against collagen-rich braises and stews; the gelatine coats the palate so the grip reads as velvet.
Try with: Beef stew · Lamb shank · Rack of lamb · More pairings →
Syrah's peppery, leathery aromatics, the earthy note Vivino drinkers flag, bridge to the savoury depth of venison and roast game where a fruitier red would fall flat.
Try with: Venison Stew · Sunday Roast Beef · Steak and Kidney Pie · More pairings →
Bright acidity beneath the dark fruit refreshes the palate through tomato-rich Tuscan ragu and fatty cured meats, the everyday pairings Antinori's own importers suggest for Bramasole.
Try with: Cotoletta alla bolognese · Agnello Ragu Lucano · Fiorentina steak · More pairings →
Tannin and acidity cut the fat and salt of aged hard cheese; the wine's pepper and dark-fruit depth stands up to a mature pecorino or a hard alpine wheel without being flattened.
Try with: Cheese board · Pecorino sardo e pan carasau
At 14.5% with oak and grippy tannin, Bramasole amplifies chilli heat and turns metallic against oily or raw fish; keep it away from vindaloo, fierce Sichuan dishes and sushi.
Skip with: Vindaloo · Szechuan beef · Sushi · Grilled mackerel · Pairing guide →
Ageing in French oak barriques and dense but supple tannins give this Syrah room to develop. Antinori positions Bramasole as a wine built to evolve; the structured 2019 and the concentrated 2021 in particular reward several more years in the cellar before they fully unwind.
Peak around 2029. Best in the years above; holds without falling over either side.
Up to eighteen months in French oak barriques and dense but supple tannins give roughly a decade of cellar potential; serious for Cortona Syrah, though short of Tuscany's longest-lived Sangiovese.
£45.00 is the lowest tracked offer for the current vintage and we have no signal of further discounting.
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Confidence · HighDrawn from what drinkers consistently report on Vivino and Wine-Searcher, summarised in our own words. A crowd read across many tasters, not a single critic.
Confidence · MediumFrom the official Italian disciplinare for this denomination, cross-checked against the Ministry of Agriculture register.
Confidence · HighOur reading of the price, drawn from the disciplinare, public UK duty rates, and typical landed-cost benchmarks. Not a quote from the producer or a retailer.
Confidence · MediumStyle guidance for this kind of wine at this price point. Treat it as advice, not a forecast for the bottle in your hand.
Confidence · MediumIt is Marchesi Antinori's Cortona DOC Syrah, made at Tenuta La Braccesca near Cortona in Tuscany. It is 100% Syrah, a variety the family planted on the estate's sunniest blocks, and was first produced in 2000.
Black pepper, violet and ripe dark fruit on the nose, with vanilla, coffee and Virginia tobacco from French oak. The palate is full-bodied and polished, with velvety, supple tannins and a long, spicy finish.
Grilled and braised red meat, game and aged hard cheese. Try it with a Fiorentina steak, slow-cooked beef or lamb, venison, or Tuscan ragu; its tannin and acidity cut through fat and protein.
The 2019 is the most acclaimed and balanced and drinks beautifully now; the low-yield 2021 is concentrated; and the warm 2022 suited a heat-tolerant Syrah. All three are drinking well, with the 2019 and 2021 worth holding.
At about 45 to 50 pounds it is a premium single-estate Cortona Syrah from Antinori. Vivino drinkers rate it around 4.2 across more than 7,000 ratings, and critics score recent vintages in the low 90s.
It drinks well on release but has the structure to develop for several years; up to eighteen months in French oak and dense, supple tannins suggest roughly a decade of cellaring for the best vintages.
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