2008 Ornellaia, Bolgheri Superiore, Tuscany, Italy
Critics reviews
I especially like the minerality and focus. There is a fabulous balance between the tannins of this structured, powerful vintage, but with gorgeous fleshiness and pliancy that makes the wine very attractive, even at this early stage. It will be fascinating to watch the 2008 develop over the coming years and decades.
The 2008 growing season was marked by a rainy, wet spring which resulted in an irregular flowering and naturally low yields. The summer was hot, but temperatures cooled towards the end of the summer, particularly at night, so important for the development of color, aromatics and full phenolic ripeness in varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon. The result is a big, massively structured Ornellaia built for the cellar. In 2008 the blend is 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. The 2008 Ornellaia spent about 20 months in French oak barrels, 70% new.
This is another strong set of wines from Tenuta dell’Ornellaia. The 2008 Ornellaia is back to its usual high level after a slightly perplexing 2007, while the 2008 Masseto is another in a fine line of vintages for this Tuscan icon.
Antonio Galloni - Wine Advocate # 196 - Aug 2011
Antonio Galloni - 30/06/2012
About this WINE
Ornellaia
Tenuta dell’Ornellaia is located in one of the world’s most exciting wine regions: Bolgheri. A breathtaking avenue lined by towering cypress trees leads inland from the Aurelia, the old Roman coastal road, up to the walls of Bolgheri’s medieval hamlet. From the village the view extends far out to sea and on a clear day the islands of the Tuscan Archipelago and Corsica can be seen.
The mild maritime climate and the lush Mediterranean vegetation leave an imprint upon the character of the wines. Tenuta dell’Ornellaia's unique territory guides all aspects of production: limited quantities to ensure maximum quality, attention to every detail, selective hand harvesting, microvinification and ageing.
Ornellaia is a Cabernet/Merlot wine blend. Masseto is made entirely from Merlot - it is a model of rich, silky elegance and has rapidly become a modern classic.
Bolgheri
Bolgheri is a new DOC in the coastal Maremma region which first rose to prominence during the 1970s with the emergence of the so-called Super Tuscan wines like Ornellaia and Sassicaia. These new ventures had rocked the DOC establishment by using high proportions of Cabernet Sauvignon, opting out of the DOC system and relabeling their wines as simply Vino da Tavola (table wine).
Having won universal acclaim and exchanging hands for unprecedented prices (higher even than Tuscany's finest examples), the authorities relented and awarded Bolgheri its own DOC. The actions of the Super Tuscans inspired a generation in Italy, even if some of the wines here have lost a little of their lustre since.
Cabernet Sauvignon blend
Cabernet Sauvignon lends itself particularly well in blends with Merlot. This is actually the archetypal Bordeaux blend, though in different proportions in the sub-regions and sometimes topped up with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.
In the Médoc and Graves the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend can range from 95% (Mouton-Rothschild) to as low as 40%. It is particularly suited to the dry, warm, free- draining, gravel-rich soils and is responsible for the redolent cassis characteristics as well as the depth of colour, tannic structure and pronounced acidity of Médoc wines. However 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be slightly hollow-tasting in the middle palate and Merlot with its generous, fleshy fruit flavours acts as a perfect foil by filling in this cavity.
In St-Emilion and Pomerol, the blends are Merlot dominated as Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle to ripen there - when it is included, it adds structure and body to the wine. Sassicaia is the most famous Bordeaux blend in Italy and has spawned many imitations, whereby the blend is now firmly established in the New World and particularly in California and Australia.
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Description
Mmmm. Dense, intense, warm and ripe. Succulent, generous, plump and juicy. Luscious layers of black fruits interlaced with creamy folds. As rewarding as a Bordeaux 2nd growth with enough Italian flair to make it different. Suave and sensational.
Simon Staples, Fine Wine Director
Opaque core – pronounced / very attractive black Morello cherry, fruits of the forest silky layers reveal on the nose with a tinge of garden herbs. Lovely mouth filling fruit, silky and smooth like satin – great elegance allied to the mouth filling fruit - not obtrusive with well integrated tannins and it just goes on and on – very classy
Ornellaia.
Stuart Rae, Fine Wine Team
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