Ornellaia, Bolgheri Superiore 2021

One of the world's true Fine Wines.

From one of the greatest vintages in living memory, this is also a genuine collector's item.

The growing season saw almost no rain from April until the last day of harvest in October, which is rare, but giving a wine of superlative quality as a result. This is a full-bodied wine that is loaded with of ripe dark fruits, Mediterranean herbs with subtle vanilla and tobacco on the nose. The palate is incredible with powerful flavours delivered in a velvet-smooth, round, engaging and surprisingly precise palate. A wonderfully long, intense and balanced finish with mouth-coating texture and an almost growing array of flavours as you head into the sunset. A monumental wine that will live with you for a long time.

Taken from the best parcels of their vineyards, the 2021 is made of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 7% Petit Verdot, which reflects the perfect vintage as they were able to harvest more of the hardier varieties and rely less on the generous Merlot. The grapes are fermented parcel by parcel and grape by grape in stainless steel and concrete vats, like Le Serre Nuove, before being moved to oak barrels for malo-lactic fermentation and ageing in 70% new and 30% first-year barrels. The wines are then aged for 12 months before being blended with each other and then returned to barriques for an additional 6 months prior to bottling. Once bottled each vintage rests for another 12 months before being released to market. 

Established in 1981 the rise of Ornellaia to its pedestal of greatness has been remarkably rapid. Few other projects have gained such rapid ascent, yet it's clear that the realisation of what potential lay in these soils was a matter of when and by whom, rather than if ever at all.  This estate is set in the coast of Tuscany set in the pebbly soils next to the village of Bolgheri and is now one of the most highly-prized and respected wine regions in the world. Famed for excellent climatic and soil conditions with a superb selection of vines, there might be a sense that wines from the Bolgheri DOC can make themselves. Though this is partly true, the realisation of the stellar quality that this particular estate produces was planned to the minutest of detail by the estate's owners and founders, the Frescobaldi family, who have been growing vines and making wine in Tuscany for over 700 years.

There's always a load of thought and writing about Fine Wine. I do enjoy reading it and wondering what some of these things might be like to actually consume; but I'm also often concerned that trying to sell them represents a hugely irrelevant struggle. These wines can be so astronomically priced that to approach them is, to many, impossible. Step-forward-second-wines, so. And yes, the second wine for Ornellaia (the superb Le Serre Nuove dell'Ornellaia) is absolutely brilliant, and gives more than a glimpse of the estate and is far more convincing in its own right than some ersatz Tuscans can achieve. But I'll say this about Ornellaia: if you do get the chance to try this, or find someone who'll go halves, or open a present, or just afford it once - you really will enjoy it. I'd reckon more so than Lynch. Or some of the others. It really is that good - this is generosity from the winemaker, the land and the climate - it's a very rewarding special wine, required naff-all in the way of expertise in order to be able to say "that's really worth it".

Antonio Galloni, 99 Points

"The 2021 Ornellaia captures all the magic of this sensational vintage on the Tuscan Coast. Rich, ample and expansive, with tremendous polish, the 2021 is pure class. Dark-toned fruit, mocha, espresso, licorice, plum and dried herbs abound. The tannins are present but also beautifully integrated, as is the French oak. There was a time not too long ago when young wines here needed years in bottle to drink well. That's not at all the case with the 2021. The blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 7% Petit Verdot works so well. New oak was 70%."

James Button, Decanter, 97 Points

"While the summer was hot and dry, with three months of drought, the vines' roots were able to tap water reserves which had been topped up by rainfall the previous winter and spring. Despite the warm growing season, Ornellaia 2021 feels less dense and muscular than vintages of old, offering pretty floral and wild herb perfumes alongside ripe red and black fruit scents. It's intense, fresh and vertical in character, with fine, ripe, round tannins that seem to be a trademark of the vintage – it's a gorgeous, breezy iteration of the Bolgheri benchmark that is already drinking well. The blend is 53% Cabernet Sauvignon (up from 50% in 2020), 25% Merlot (down from 32%), 15% Cabernet Franc (up from 13%) and 7% Petit Verdot (up from 5%); a carefully considered response from the winemaking team to the increasingly warm summers in the region. Drinking Window: 2024 – 2048"

Monica Larner, The Wine Advocate, 96 Points

"The Ornellaia 2021 Bolgheri Superiore Ornellaia offers an extra layer of richness, generosity and plushness that shapes a very open-knit and exuberant Tuscan red. The blend is 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 7% Petit Verdot. You feel the fruit and oak weight of the wine, the extract and the 15% alcohol content. All of these elements come together to big effect. From that power, you get black cherry, dark fruit, sweet spice and barbecue smoke. The fruit tannins are young, and this edition of Ornellaia proves worthy for medium or long-term drinking, especially as it softens up with more bottle age."