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How many dinners anywhere start with a wine on a level with the 2010 Ornellaia? I imagine not many. But that’s exactly the way we get going. Super-expressive aromatics soar out of the glass as the 2010 shows off its personality. Sweet herbs, tobacco, licorice, mocha and tar wrap around a core of intense dark fruit. Racy, powerful and majestic, the 2010 is a total stunner.Antonio Galloni | 98 AGPoured from the special anniversary bottle, the 2010 Bolgheri Superiore Ornellaia is a truly outstanding wine that leaves a lasting memory for those who are lucky enough to enjoy it. What stands out is the absolutely seamless-seamless-seamless (yes, it’s worth repeating three times) integration of its many moving parts. The wine magically transitions from cherry, spice, chocolate and espresso in one melodic and continuous loop. It exudes balance and elegance over long, delicious minutes. It is profoundly impressive. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2030. Of all the grapevines planted on the Ornellaia estate, the 2010 vintage showed best results with Merlot, says Leonardo Raspini. Because the harvest was later than usual, the early-ripening grape enjoyed a slow and steady evolution.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPThe 2010 Ornellaia celebrates the wine’s 25th anniversary, and it could not have been a more spectacular vintage. It opens with aromas of crushed blue flowers, black berries, pipe tobacco and thyme that give way to an elegant, structured and polished palate. It delivers intense blackberry flavors layered with white pepper, Mediterranean herbs, mineral and mocha brightened by fresh acidity alongside smooth, velvety tannins. This will age and develop for decades. Drink 2016–2040.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEA wine with a wonderful depth of berry, chocolate and hazelnut character. Full-bodied with velvety tannins and a round, delicious finish. Fruit-forward and exuberant: more in-your-face fruit to this wine than in many past vintages. Enticing all the same. This comes in a special bottle commemorating the 25th anniversary of the wine coming onto the market. Try in 2016.James Suckling | 95 JSA muscular, impenetrable red, with tightly wound tannins guiding the black cherry, plum, herb, soy and oak spice flavors. Monolithic today, this needs time to find equilibrium. Best from 2016 through 2032. 2,200 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

Another dark, intense wine, the 2011 Ornellaia boasts superb depth, richness and power. Here, too, the 2011 has tightened up quite a bit over the last six months. Today, the searing tannins are quite prominent, giving the 2011 an element of gravitas and muscle that argues for cellaring. How long? I am not sure, but the 2011 is built for the long haul. Savory herbs, new leather, menthol and cloves resonate on the huge finish.Antonio Galloni | 97 AGThis shows incredible concentration with dark-berry, dark-chocolate, mint and rosemary character. Full body with a superb depth of fruit and polished tannins. It's chewy but caressing. This needs at least four or five years to come around. Powerful and intense. Yet it remains fresh and bright.James Suckling | 96 JSA dark and inky red, featuring violet, black currant, cedar, sandalwood and iron aromas and flavors. Nonetheless, this comes across as elegant, even as the tannins prove formidable on the finish. A terrific young wine in the making. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2017 through 2035. 2,200 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 96 WSThe 2011 Bolgheri Superiore Ornellaia lives up to the legacy of this important wine, thanks to its extreme intensity and its skillfully crafted bouquet. The excellent quality of fruit stands clear, despite the heat of the vintage, with pristine notes of dark cherry, exotic spice and chocolate. This expression of Ornellaia is composed of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc and 6% Petit Verdot. The results are nothing short of exuberant and this vintage will reward both those who decided to drink it early, as well as those who have the patience to wait. The only slight ruffle in this otherwise gorgeous presentation is the 2011 tannin that feels a touch aggressive. For that reason, its probably better to put the wine aside in your cellar.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPAnother impressive effort from the celebrated Ornellaia estate. it opens with aromas of black berries, plum, blue flower and hints of balsamic herbs. The rich palate delivers a core of fleshy black cherry accented with notes of licorice, black pepper and mocha alongside bracing but refined tannins. It's still young so give it time to fully develop. Drink 2016–2031.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WE

(Ornellaia, Bolgheri, Superiore, Tuscany, Italy, Red) Ornellaia 2013 issues from a very ’Bolgherian’ vintage. Tempering sea breezes aided long hang times, vital given the sluggish budburst. The reduced crop was a blessing, as remaining grapes could eek out those marginal gains in flavour and aroma expression, and above all elegance. A beautifully compact Ornellaia with a very clear, moreish fruit expression above a nuanced - if yet to be fully pliant - tannic frame. That resolving inner tension and crisp insistence makes this lightly saline red as bracing and fresh as if it were bottled yesterday. 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 7% Petit Verdot. (Drink between 2021-2040)Decanter | 100 DECAmazing graphite and violet aromas with dark fruits. Medium to full body, ultra-velvety tannins and a long and beautiful finish. Formed and tight. I love the fresh ginger underneath it all. This has a cool profile to the wine. So approachable yet this has wonderful length.James Suckling | 98 JSThis 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.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPThe 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.Antonio Galloni | 96+ AGThe inky colored 2013 Ornellaia is made from 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. It was brought up in 70% new French oak, with the balance in once-used barrels, aged 18 months before bottling. Cassis, blackberries, graphite, toasty oak, and licorice notes all flow to a full-bodied, concentrated, structured 2013 that has beautiful purity and elegance, building tannin, and a great finish. It’s a beautiful wine that’s going to benefit from 2-4 years of bottle age and shine for 10-15 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 95+ JDVanilla, toast and smoke notes shade the black cherry and plum aromas, while the spicy oak theme carries over on the palate. A brash style that shows fine balance, but this will require time to find equilibrium. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2018 through 2029. 12,000 cases made, 2,000 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 93 WSA blend of 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 7% Petit Verdot, this opens with aromas of red currant, fragrant purple flower and exotic spice. The currant aroma carries over to the austere palate along with cranberry, chopped herb and French oak. With its backbone of firm acidity and assertive close-grained tannins, it already boasts finesse but will need years to soften and develop. Drink 2021–2028.Wine Enthusiast | 91 WE

The 2018 Ornellaia is an introvert at this stage. Medium in body, with terrific persistence and impeccable balance, the 2018 is not in any mood to show all its cards today. Hints of red berry fruit, mocha, spice, licorice and dried flowers emerge with a bit of coaxing. I won’t be surprised to see it put on weight with more time in bottle. There is certainly plenty to look forward to. Readers should expect a silky, aromatic Ornellaia in line with vintages such as 2004 that are more about finesse than raw power. This is the first time in which Merlot drives the blend in Ornellaia.Antonio Galloni | 97 AGThis 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. Drinking Window 2023 - 2040Decanter | 97 DECThe 2018 Ornellaia is mostly Merlot but includes a solid amount of Cabernet Sauvignon and tiny amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. It's a gorgeous wine that takes air to show at its best (and deserves bottle age), giving up a terrific array of red and black currants, cedar pencil, tobacco, iron, and savory herbs. These carry to a medium to full-bodied, concentrated, incredibly well-balanced red that has building, ripe, polished tannins, perfectly integrated acidity, a great mid-palate, and one heck of a finish. While not a blockbuster in the exuberant, extroverted sense of the word, it has incredible intensity and depth, and this is a gem of a wine. It needs another 5-7 years to hit maturity and, I suspect, will evolve for 30-40 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDSo aromatic and complex with blackcurrants, blueberries, fresh violets and lavender on the nose. Some graphite and iodine, too. Medium to full body with firm, chewy tannins that are polished and refined, yet the palate is so long and refined. This is an Ornellaia with strength in elegance. Try after 2025.James Suckling | 97 JSThe 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.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPComplex, sophisticated and harmonious, this pure red is marked by black currant, black cherry, cedar, iron and light spice flavors. Bright and focused, with refined tannins emerging on the spice-tinged finish. Discreet and stylish. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2023 through 2040. 1,500 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 95 WS