2026 Tuscany Preview

BY ANTONIO GALLONI | APRIL 2, 2026

Spring is a time of renewal. Vines are awaking from their winter dormancy while new releases start appearing in the market at a rapid pace. This report looks at some of the year’s most anticipated releases, along with some newer projects, with an emphasis on the Tuscan Coast. Full coverage will follow later in the year.

Recent Vintages

I will have more to say about recent vintages as we publish our regional reports. Vintages 2024, 2023 and 2022 all presented challenges. Beyond that, so many estates have now entered a new generation of ownership. Separating vintage characteristics from decisions producers take in response to weather conditions from broader stylistic changes is a complicated task. This is especially true on the Tuscan Coast, where the move to make wines of greater freshness and finesse than those of the past is a recent development.

Moreover, numbers and data with regard to harvest dates, rainfall, heat summation and other statistics that are increasingly bandied about never tell the full story. For example, in 2023, Antinori recorded 120 mm of rain at Tignanello in August and September compared to 92 mm at their Guado al Tasso property in Bolgheri. Tignanello is hilly, while Guado al Tasso is flat. Beyond that, when rain falls at a very heavy rate, water does not penetrate the soil. Instead, it runs off the land anywhere where there is some sort of incline. Data always requires interpretation. The final analysis of any vintage ultimately comes down to evaluating each wine with care and attention.

2024: Let it Rain

The growing season started much like 2023, with a warm winter and plenty of rain in the spring. If there is a positive, it is that after 2023, producers were better equipped to deal with disease pressure. Producers reported a wide range of conditions for the summer months, but one theme is a constant: uneven ripening. Rain again at the end of summer accelerated picking decisions. The 2024 reds I have tasted so far, all entry-level bottlings, are aromatic and svelte, but also quite pleasant. The restrained style is sure to please a broad group of consumers who appreciate lighter reds. It will be very interesting to see how producers interpreted the year in their flagship bottlings. At this stage, I am cautiously optimistic.

Tenuta San Guido’s vineyards in Castiglioncello, the most historic and highest-elevation vineyards that form the core of the flagship Sassicaia.

2023: Ups and Downs

The 2023 growing season made headlines for the heavy rains that poured during the early part of the year and into the summer. Producers faced significant challenges in the vineyard, including elevated disease pressure and wet soils that made entering the vineyards with tractors impossible for long stretches. Peronospora (downy mildew) outbreaks were far more widespread and severe than anything most producers had ever seen. Well-drained vineyards (which often translates into hillside sites) clearly fared best. Certain pockets were less affected by rain than others. Conditions then changed markedly, especially in September and into October, both of which were extremely hot.

The wines I have tasted so far are quite successful, although I add that most of those bottles represent the pinnacle of quality. Even so, the best 2023s feature gorgeous forward fruit and fine balance. Structurally, the wines are a bit lighter than those of truly great vintages, such as 2021, but in exchange, the 2023s offer a great deal of immediacy and pure pleasure. Not all vintages can be great, and not all wines should garner extremely high scores. As of this writing, I see 2023 as stronger across the board than 2022, but without the layers, complexity or structure of the very finest years.

I tasted all the wines in this report in our New York City offices between February and March 2026.

© 2026, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or redistributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism.

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