2011 Ornellaia, Bolgheri Superiore, Tuscany, Italy
Critics reviews
Another dark, intense wine, the 2011 Ornellaia boasts superb depth, richness and power. Here, too, the 2011 has tightened up quite a bit over the last six months. Today, the searing tannins are quite prominent, giving the 2011 an element of gravitas and muscle that argues for cellaring. How long? I am not sure, but the 2011 is built for the long haul. Savoury herbs, new leather, menthol and cloves resonate on the huge finish.
Drink 2017 - 2033
Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com (May 2014)
Beautiful scent. Gorgeous milk chocolate, black cherry, tobacco and spice. Great persistence and power, but an effortlessly drinkable structure. Justifiably renowned! Has all the quality and complexity you would hope for. Very fine tannins will support long ageing. Excellent.
Drink 2016 - 2036
Richard Hemming MW, JancisRobinson.com (July 2014)
The 2011 Bolgheri Superiore Ornellaia lives up to the legacy of this important wine, thanks to its extreme intensity and skillfully crafted bouquet. The excellent quality of fruit stands clear, despite the heat of the vintage, with pristine notes of dark cherry, exotic spice and chocolate. This expression of Ornellaia is composed of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc and 6% Petit Verdot. The results are nothing short of exuberant, and this vintage will reward both those who decided to drink it early and those who have the patience to wait. The only slight ruffle in this otherwise gorgeous presentation is the 2011 tannin, which feels aggressive. Therefore, it's probably better to put the wine in your cellar.
Drink 2016 - 2030
Monica Larner, Wine Advocate (October 2014)
This shows incredible concentration, with dark berry, dark chocolate, mint, and rosemary characters. It has a full body with a superb depth of fruit and polished tannins. It's chewy but caressing. This needs at least four or five years to come around. It is powerful and intense, yet it remains fresh and bright.
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (November 2014)
2011 was marked by very hot, dry weather. Growth was slowed by cooler conditions in June and July, but it was an earlier-than-average harvest. This is a very dark, post-modern version of Ornellaia, with prune, tobacco, clove and leathery notes allied to balsamic breaths. Deep cassis and black truffles introduce a powerful palate with firm, grainy, chewy tannins and super-fresh, almost racy acidity. It cannot be defined as elegant, but it's a powerful wine full of details, and is awesome with food.
Drink 2023 - 2028
Aldo Fiordelli, Decanter.com (September 2023)
Fully saturated ruby. Reticent aromas of deep black fruits and spices are complemented by menthol, grilled herbs, and vanillin oak. Dense, sweet, and powerful but still quite primary, conveying a distinctly high pitch to its ripe black cherry, violet, and coffee flavours. It finishes saline, tannic, and very long, with impressive muscle and noteworthy medicinal reserve. It is a huge but very successful Ornellaia that I would have scored even higher had it shown even more length.
Ian D'Agata, Vinous.com (December 2014)
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.
When is a wine ready to drink?
We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.
Not ready
These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.
Ready - youthful
These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.
Ready - at best
These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.
Ready - mature
These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.
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Description
Ornellaia is predominantly a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot adding seasoning. It is one of Tenuta Dell’Ornellaia’s two signature wines, the other being the 100% Merlot. Winemaker Axel Heinz’s use of this Bordeaux blend grown on the Tuscan coast has made this wine a highly anticipated favourite amongst wine lovers.
The winemakers have described this vintage as of a quality similar to the great 2001 but even more sophisticated. It is a wine with a rich plum core, polished and intriguing with tobacco and liquorice, adding further complexity to the perfectly composed palate.
Berry Bros. & Rudd
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