Super Tuscan - RP95 points!
2004 Ornellaia - RP95 points
Tuscany is the quintessential Italian wine region, and Ornellaia is regarded as one of its premier producers. Known as a Super Tuscan, Ornellaia was introduced by Piero Antinori of the famous Antinori family in 1985 as part of a revolution in Italian wine-making. In an effort to increase the quality of wines coming out of Tuscany, producers began utilizing untraditional techniques not used in Tuscany before, most notably the omission of Sangiovese in the blending process. The wines exhibited exploding fruit with an amazing intensity that have consistently garnered high ratings. Ornellaia cemented the status of the new breed of Tuscan wines and set the standard for other producers to look up to.
There have been a few classic vintages in Tuscany, and 2004 is one of the recent ones. The weather was perfect in Bolgheri, the town in which Ornellaia is located, and the vintage is considered to be a great expression of Ornellaia's brilliance. Their wines are Bordeaux-like, blending a majority of Cabernet Sauvignon along with Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. Availability of the highly-rated 2004 is very limited, so don't miss out on the chance to experience one of the greatest wines of Italy and the world.
Limited Availability
ITALY - TUSCANY
2004 Ornellaia, Tenuta dell' Ornellaia Proprietary Blend 750ml - $139.99
Wine Advocate, Jan 2007, 95 points: "The gorgeous 2004 Ornellaia is a great way to start this tasting. A lively dark ruby, it is a vibrant effort bursting with expressive aromatics and layered, well-delineated fruit, showing much purity on the palate and closing with a long, finessed finish. Readers hoping to catch this wine's full array of nuances will have to wait at least another few years as the wine remains quite primary today. This exquisite effort is not to be missed. A blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. 95/Anticipated maturity: 2011-2019. Tenuta dell'Ornellaia is without question one of Italy's blue-chip properties. The gorgeous, sprawling estate is located in Bolgheri in Tuscany's Maremma. On a recent visit I had the opportunity to taste a number of the estate's wines with General Manager/Agronomist Leonardo Raspini and Oenologist Axel Heinz, including verticals of the estate's top bottlings Ornellaia and Masseto.Ornellaia is a Bordeaux-inspired blend consisting principally of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. In 2003 a small percentage of Petit Verdot was introduced. The use of several varietals gives the winemaking team the luxury of being able to tailor the exact proportion of the blend to the specific strengths of a given vintage. Because the blend tends to vary from year to year in a vertical tasting Ornellaia shows many different facets of its personality.After harvest the varietals are vinified separately. Fermentation and maceration lasts between 25-30 days after which the wines are moved into French oak barrels where they age for 12 months. The wines are then racked and assembled into the final blend, which spends an additional six months in barrel prior to being bottled. The percentage of new oak has risen from 50%, which was used for vintages 1997 and 1998, to 60% used in 1999, to the 70% the estate has employed since 2000."
Sell Wine with JJ Buckley
Do you have wine you want to sell? JJ Buckley can help you get top dollar. We now offer you three ways to sell your wine:
We buy wines outright!
Consign your wines to auction - fast and easy!
Consign your wines to our retail store - set your own price!
For more information, please call us at 888-859-4637 or email info@jjbuckley.com.
| ||||||
<< Home