2013 - Ornellaia, Bolgheri

The 2013 Ornellaia continues to put on weight with time in bottle. I have tasted the 2013 three times over the last few months and watched it blossom over that time. Fresh, vibrant and tightly wound, the 2013 is going to need at least a few years to come into its own. There is striking purity to the aromas and flavors, along with plenty of tension and enough energy to reward cellaring.

This wine will be released in May 2016. The 2013 Bolgheri Superiore Ornellaia is an integrated and seamless blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Alex Heinz tells me that 2013 was a difficult vintage especially towards the early part of the growing season. It balanced out during the summer and allowed for steady ripening of fruit before the harvest. But 2013 was not as hot as 2011 and 2012 overall, and this edition of Ornellaia is beautifully tonic and shapely as a result. The bouquet is very developed in terms of aromas this year with beautiful notes of dark fruit, tobacco and spice. Those perfumes are just gorgeous. The mouthfeel is similarly intense with tannins that are still young, but are already silky and linear in nature. This vintage promises a long aging future.

The balsamic edge is clear, as are the waves of rosemary, toasted herbs, cumin, underbrush, dried herbs, amaretto biscuits, red cherry, tobacco. There were challenges in this vintage, with a cool beginning to the season followed by a hot summer, and they waited and extended picking to ensure complexity, with a long harvest stretching from September 9 to October 14. Feels beautifully Tuscan, with its blend of herbs and spices, and is full of charm, a little more evolved than some in the lineup. 70% new oak for ageing. Axel Heinz winemaker.

This is the vintage dubbed L'Eleganza by winemaker Axel Heinz. The word appears on the back label and there are some special bottlings with labels by the Japanese artist Yutaka Sone. Dark crimson with purple notes. Very ripe but with lively, savoury topnotes and lifted freshness. Great balance and approachability already. Funny to think of how even the finest 2013 red bordeaux would taste alongside this luscious wine. Scented and savoury. Pure hedonism. Not sure 'elegant' is the word I'd choose in a global context, but maybe it is appropriate in an Ornellaia context. (JR)