This is refined and, at the same time, structured. Shows balance and length. Full-bodied, savory, fruity and supple. Classically styled Ornellaia.

This is such a charismatic wine, abundant and packed full of flavour while refined and precise. The palate has barely-there tannins that glide across the tongue underpinned by milk chocolate, leather, almost-sour cherries, blackcurrants and liquorice spicing. Freshness and persistence balanced by density and silkiness. Fermentation in oak barrels 70% new and 30% once used, then transferred to barriques for 18 months. After the first 12 months of maturation the wine is assembled and returned to barriques for an additional 6 months before being bottled and aged again for 12 months prior to release. A blend of 51% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot.

The 2018 Bolgheri Superiore Ornellaia is complete and seamlessly stitched together with extreme care and precision. This is an almost technical blend of Merlot (at 50% of the blend for the first time), 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot that offers a true sense of wholeness and consistency that speaks to the blending expertise and experience of the winemaking team. Finding harmony among the various vinous components of the wine was especially important in this vintage that prized early-ripening grapes like Merlot over the others. Blackberry and dried cherry segue to spice, tar, campfire ash and more sweet fruit. We're off to a great start, and this vintage of Ornellaia is surely destined to flesh out and grow more complex with age.