About the Wine

Ananda di Toscana is a Super-Tuscan wine produced in alliance with famed Italian winemaker Alberto Antonini.

"Ananda" translates to "Perfect Happiness" in Hindi. Ananda di Toscana embodies the elegance of Bordeaux with the heart and soul of Tuscany.

The vineyards are in Maremma on the south coast of Tuscany, the exciting new area for Italian viticulture. 2001 was the debut vintage of Ananda and arrived in what turned out to be a great year in Tuscany. 18,000 bottles were produced and then bottled on October 22nd, 2003. The 2003 promises to be of the same excellence. There is no 2002 vintage because the harvest was not up to Ananda's standards.

The 2001 is made from 60% Sangiovese (30-year-old vines) and 40% Merlot (10-year-old vines) and is aged in French oak barriques for 18 months. The 2003 vintage is made from 50% Sangiovese and 50% Merlot, also aged for 18 months in French oak barriques.

In a world where wine is so often praised as being "powerful," "international" and even "a fruit bomb," Ananda follows a more classical course. Complex and feminine aromatics, refinement, finesse and pleasurable drinking with food—these are our hallmarks.

A word used by many British wine writers and which I have always liked—"flavoury"—would be evocative of our taste impression. We strive for grace rather than power, food wine rather than "tasting" wine, wine that gives pleasure with every glass.

More details on the vintages can be read here:

• 2001 Specs (PDF)
• 2003 Specs (PDF)