ORNELLAIA

An early harvest after a hot summer, this is luscious and enticing in texture. Jewel-ruby and violet-edged in colour, the plentiful vintage signature comes across in generosity and intensity of ripe fruit - raspberry, blueberry, sweet fig, spiced sandalwood, balsamic, bay leaf and mandarin zest giving focus and lift. All is texture and depth, ready to be loved. Clearly long ageing, as is always the case with Ornellaia, a little more open and generous than the 2019 was at the same stage. All varieties are aged separately for 12 months then blended and then put back in barrel for 6 months, followed by 12 months in bottle. 70% new oak. Director Axel Heinz, oenologist Olga Fusari. Tasted twice. Drinking range: 2026 - 2042 Rating: 96 Jane Anson, Decanter (Mar 2023)

Tasted from barrel, the 2020 Bolgheri Superiore Ornellaia will be presented in the fall but won’t hit the market until spring of the following year. This is a beauty, so generous and opulent with fully seamless transitions. The wine’s traditional blend is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot with tiny percentages of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, although this warm vintage makes due with a pinch less of the Cabernet Sauvignon. Fruit is selected across 107 hectares of Ornellaia vines, although the estate recently purchased an additional eight hectares next to Guado al Tasso in Castagneto Carducci, with terraces and vines aged between 15 and 28 years old. This broad and generous expression has a beautiful quality of fruit and oak that speaks to the very best of Italian winemaking. Rating: 95-97 Monica Larner, The Wine Advocate (www.robertparker.com) (Jul 2022)