2021 Tenuta dell’ Ornellaia

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2021 is shaping up to be a legendary vintage for Italy.  Dry sunny conditions allowed fruit to ripen to the perfect level. There is a body and richness, without being over the top, but at the same time the wines display great energy and lift.  

Please find all the many glowing reviews below!

From what we have tasted so far, this will be a reference point vintage in Italy, ranking among the finest wines they have ever produced, and that’s certainly true for Tenuta dell’ Ornellaia! This classic Bordeaux blend, Cabernet, Merlot, Cab Franc and Petit Verdot, is a wine anyone serious about Ornellaia is going to want to have in their cellars. 

I wish I had more of the beauty to sell!

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Marchese Lodovico Antinori of the Antinori family established Tenuta dell' Ornellaia with the help of winemaker Tibor Gál. Up to that point, it had been one of Italy's most historic negociant firms.

Next door to Tenuta San Guido is the producer of Sassicaia, a wine considered the seminal Super Tuscan. It’s been whispered that Ornellaia is Antinori's response to his cousin Nicolò Incisa's Sassicaia. Oh yeah, and then there is also his older brother Piero Antinori's Solaia.  

Oof, a lot of testosterone in a small area, doing exactly what competitive men should do….create the absolute most pleasurable experiences for the world! In that, they have all succeeded. 

The vineyards of the estate were planted in 1981, producing the first vintage in 1985. A modern winery was built in 1987, and a second 56-hectare (140-acre) property was later added, Bellaria, situated north of Bolgheri.

Robert Mondavi Winery took a minority interest in the estate in November 1999, and were full owners by 2002, while initiating a partnership with the Frescobaldi family.  

In April 2005, Frescobaldi bought the remaining 50% shares of Ornellaia from Constellation Brands after their acquisition of Mondavi holdings, coming to own the whole estate. Axel Heinz is the current winemaker with Michel Rolland, involved with the estate since its beginning, is retained as consultant oenologist.