This is a hopelessly gorgeous wine with so much energy, intensity, density and good cheer. The superb ensemble—Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot—delivers chocolate fudge, ripe cherry, rhubarb, cola, tobacco and cedar wood. It’s tight and supple, with seamless harmony and excellent succulence on the finish. But it’s that incredible intensity that truly sets this wine apart.Wine Enthusiast | 98 WEDark ruby-purple in color, with complex aromas of dark chocolate, cola, vanilla, cedar and currant. Full-bodied yet ultrarefined, with dense, seamless, caressing tannins. Everything is in the right proportion. Superb. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best after 2009. 11,710 cases made, 2,450 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 97 WSThis is a really balanced and beautiful year with chocolate, currant and walnut character. Medium body and fine and silky tannins. Shows autumnal and light mushroom undertones. Just moving into its maturity. A warm yet fresh vintage. Ready to drink.James Suckling | 96 JSThis strong series of 2004s continues with the gorgeous 2004 Ornellaia. 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. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2019.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPThe 2004 Ornellaia (magnum) has always been a beautiful wine, but stylistically it stands out quite a bit from other vintages of this era, something that is particularly evident in this tasting. The 2004 is perhaps the most delicate, feminine Ornellaia ever made. Silky tannins frame a perfumed core of ripe fruit all the way through to the sublime finish. The wine’s inner fragrance, sweetness and balance are all impeccable. The 2004 remains one of my all-time favorite Ornellaias, and it is firing on all cylinders on this night. In 2004 the growing season was long and even, with a cool early summer and warmer late summer. Yields were on the high side, as the vines released the stored energy they had held in reserve from the previous year, which required the estate to aggressively green harvest in order to keep the plants in balance. The 2004 Ornellaia is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. The relatively high percentage of Cabernet Franc may explain the 2004’s gorgeous, vivid bouquet. The wine spent a total of 18 months in oak (70% new) prior to being bottled.Antonio Galloni | 95 AGClosed at first behind a wall of tannin, this needs several hours to reveal its full potential. While those tannins remain strong, the flavor of the fruit-perfectly ripened to flavors of fig and black cherries during a long, even growing season-is what powers the wine. Elegantly composed of 60 percent cabernet sauvignon, 25 percent merlot and lesser amounts of franc and petit verdot, the 2004 is a classic vintage of Ornellaia. Cellar this and watch it develop over the next 10 to 20 years.Wine and Spirits | 93 W&S