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%. - By Antonio Galloni on February 2024 The 2021 Ornellaia is every bit as impressive as the components were when I tasted them during a visit to the property in September 2022. Harvest started early in the last days of August and then continued for several weeks. It?s a vintage with very high extract more than even years like 2006 and yet the wine feels incredibly finessed the result of gentler extraction overall and a lighter hand with oak. The last few years have seen a clear move towards complementing and balancing the natural opulence of Bolgheri rather than emphasizing it ? as was sometimes the case in the past ? and it shows. The Bianco 100% Sauvignon Blanc is also terrific. In other news Ornellaia has a new team headed by Technical Director Marco Balsimelli and Winemaker Denise Cosentino both of whom joined following the departure of longtime Estate Director Axel Heinz and Winemaker Olga Fusari. Balsimelli worked alongside highly respected Bordeaux consultant Eric Boissenot for more than a decade while Cosentino was most recently Winemaker at Domaines Barons de Rothchild?s Long Dai winery in Shandong China. Balsimelli and Cosentino have stellar educational pedigrees and resumes. It will be interesting to see what the next chapter brings.

Aromas of blackcurrants iodine crushed stone hints of mint and sage. Blue fruits. Full-bodied with chewy tannins that open with air. It?s racy and very long. Very tannin driven and energetic with power and focus. Muscular and very toned. This is the best Ornellaia for the cellar in years. Try after 2030.

"Estate director Axel Heinz called 2020 ‘a classic Ornellaia,’ and picked the theme of ‘La Proporzione‘ (proportion) to describe its character. Indeed, the blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot marks a return to a more typical blend following the pendulum swings of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon in 2019, and 51% Merlot in 2018. Fine-grained and beautifully textured, its finely integrated tannins support a concentration of black fruits lightened by red berries. Aromas of black cherry, liquorice, dark chocolate, cedar and damp earth make for a fragrant wine, accompanied by menthol and balsamic streaks which run through the wine and impart plenty of freshness. It finishes with a stony and salty element along with some chocolatey and woody hints. Tight and moreish, its ripeness of fruit combined with freshness and structure adeptly tells the story of this earlier-ripening vintage. It lacks complexity in the mouth – this will come with time – but the array of aromas gives a hint of what is to come. Drinking Window: 2023-2050. (Feb 2023)"

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. Here's a bit of news I am especially happy to report: between the sister estates Ornellaia and Masseto bottle weight has been reduced by 82 tons in two years. The goal is to reduce an additional 12 tons before next year. For example the bottle for the 2021 Masseto reviewed here was reduced by 150 grams to its current weight of 600 grams. This is a theme I have been following carefully (https://www.robertparker.com/wines/u8L84HES4Nid48LDw) because if a brand as important as Masseto takes a leadership stand on environmentally unfriendly glass bottles other estates will surely follow. This is a time of enormous change for Ornellaia and Masseto. Estate Director Axel Heinz left his position in March 2023 after nearly two decades in Bolgheri. The German-born Bordeaux-trained winemaker is currently employed at Château Lascombes in Margaux. Axel joined the Tuscan estate in 2005 and oversaw the development of Ornellaia and Masseto as distinct brands each with their own dedicated winery today. Lamberto Frescobaldi is president of the group today. Former Ornellaia CEO Giovanni Geddes the visionary who brought Masseto to La Place de Bordeaux announced his retirement in 2023. Starting January 1 2024 a new team was put into place. Marco Balsimelli is charged with production (returning home to Italy from Bordeaux where he spent 17 years with Laboratoire Oenologique Boissenot) and Giuliano Tarchi is vineyard manager (for both Ornellaia and Masseto). Gaia Cinnirella is winemaker for Masseto and the Ornellaia winemaker is Denise Cosentino (she replaces outgoing Olga Fusari). The Ornellaia Bianco became a Bolgheri Bianco DOC wine starting in the 2021 vintage. I have previously reviewed that vintage and you will find my note published in our database. Published: Feb 15 2024