Tenuta dell´Ornellaia - Ornellaia VdT 2019

ANTONIO GALLONI: "The 2019 Ornellaia is one of the most elegant wines I have ever tasted here. All the elements are so well-balanced. Dark and racy, with fabulous class and pedigree to burn, the 2019 is superb from the very first taste. Dark plum, mocha, new leather, licorice and spice build over time, but it is the wine’s stunning finesse that impresses most. The 2019 has the highest percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon since the 2002. That very much comes through in the wine’s vibrancy and aromatic presence."

DECANTER: "Pure delicious fruit expression on the nose, the best and brightest black cherry aromas, so pure and defined. Supremely elegant with delicate perfume surrounding the rich fruit aromas with a dusting of vanilla and milk chocolate. Excellent tension on the palate - you feel this is so direct and pristine, the flavours just driving from start to finish in one straight push but with concentration and intensity. It's not so layered or expansive at this point but so well executed - you can feel the power. Tannins are grippy with ripe blackcurrants, a fleshy kind of texture to the palate with a hint of dry stoniness and salinity on the finish alongside liquorice and clove. So young and too young to drink but this has incredible depth, confidence and restraint. It's sleeping now. Drinking Window 2027 - 2045"

FALSTAFF: "Sattes Rubin-Violett. Sehr vielschichtige Nase mit Noten nach Brombeere, Cassis und Holunderbeere, dann feine Gewürze, etwas Zimt, Kardamom und Zedernholz. Geschliffen und fein am Gaumen, öffnet sich mit viel feinmaschigem Tannin, reife Beerenfrucht, im hinteren Bereich ein Feuerwerk an Gewürzen, feiner Fruchtschmelz."

JAMES SUCKLING: "The aromas of blackcurrants, fresh basil and thyme, as well as cedar and sandalwood are so attractive. It’s full-bodied and very linear with tight tannins that draw you down the length of this young wine. Wet-earth and cool-stone undertones. It’s solid and so structured. A classic Ornellaia for the cellar. Try after 2027."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Intense colour and nose with alcohol and sweetness to the fore. High-toned nose and the sort of aromatic leafiness I associate with Cabernet Franc though at the time of writing that I had no idea what the assemblage was. When I tasted the wine at home it seemed really quite delicate – no heavy sweetness at all initially, though it developed a certain lusciousness with time. Finishes dry and neat with only a dusting of tannins. It would actually be perfectly possible to enjoy this young wine without food even at this early stage in its development. But when I tasted this wine a few days later in the context of the Bolgheri tasting on 24 February it seemed quite flashy and attention-grabbing compared with some of its peers. Very ripe, dramatic wine with no shortage of well-worked tannins underneath all that glam fruit. A hint of Napa? Very good winemaking and just the right side of overripe."

THE WINEADVOCATE: "This is a beautiful expression of coastal Tuscany and the sunny Mediterranean. The Ornellaia 2019 Bolgheri Superiore Ornellaia (a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot) pours from the bottle with a specific darkness that has elements of both inky saturation and ruby highlights. The wine is saturated and rich—this is something you notice off the bat—but it also reveals a pleasing lightness or grace that is transmitted to both the bouquet and the palate. Dark fruit, pressed blackberry and plum mingle with more substantial aromas of spice, leather and sweetly cured tobacco. The tannins are beautifully managed, and the wine sports considerable heft and density on the palate that drives a very long and pleasurable mouthfeel."

WEINWISSER: "Dieser Ornellaia besticht schon im Duft mit einem eher kühlen, eleganten Bouquet, also eher im vornehmem Bordeaux-Style statt wie früher „kalifornisch“. Dabei bleibt er seiner extrem würzig-ätherischen Ader mit herrlich mediterraner Macchia, balsamischen Noten und reifen roten und blauen Früchten treu, ist aber in der Anmutung eher auf Eleganz und Frische aus als auf Konzentration und Druck. Am Gaumen enorm saftig mit prägnanter Dichte und zupackenden, aber hoch elaborierten, engmaschigen Tanninen, eine feine Säure lässt ihn seidig-elegant und doch auch lebendig wirken."