Tenuta Dell'Ornellaia - Ornellaia Toscana IGT 2012 (750ml)
Price: $250.00
| Producer | Tenuta Dell'Ornellaia |
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Tuscany |
| Subregion | Toscana IGT |
| Varietal | Merlot |
| Vintage | 2012 |
| Sku | 1559262 |
| Size | 750ml |
Decanter: 99 Points
This famed SuperTuscan wine (a Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot blend with 10% Cabernet Franc and 7% Petit Verdot) is the flagship cuvée of Ornellaia one of the most prominent estates in the small Bolgheri region and owned by the Frescobaldi family. Like 2011 it was a dry growing year in 2012 and it wasn?t until scattered showers hit the vines in August and September that the ripening was propelled resulting in fine overall ripeness. Each variety was vinified separately before being moved into 70% new barriques. Vincenzo Arnese; Complex notes of ripe blackcurrant and dark cherry on the nose with walnut cedar and smoked charcoal. The palate is fresh and vibrant showing rich yet integrated tannins. It will also improve with time. Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW: Amazingly refined cassis blackberry ink and dried flower aromas with a touch of spice. On the palate it?s deep complex multi-layered silky and long. Impressive. Amanda Barnes: There are seductive notes of crème de cassis with some cigar box and liquorice on the nose. A very inviting blend with a silky fruit profile and a mineral tension to the fine tannins and fresh acid. Nominated by Ronan Sayburn MS Tasted by: Vincenzo Arnese Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW Amanda Barnes (at Decanter Tasting Suite London 30 Nov 2022) Part of Wines of the Year 2022: top-scoring bottles
James Suckling: 97 Points
"A tight and silky red with compacted fruit and tannin texture featuring blackcurrant mushroom and bark undertones. Full body firm tannins and a minerally finish. Excellent structure and mouthfeel. A cooler style of Ornellaia bringing it back to the classicism of this celebrated region. Bordeaux blend."
Vinous: 94+ Points
"The 2012 Ornellaia has put on quite a bit of weight since I first tasted it from bottle a few months ago. Rich powerful and concentrated the 2012 offers plenty of depth and intensity with expressive fruit and striking mid-palate intensity. Dark red cherry jam wild flowers licorice smoke tobacco and mint blossom in the glass. There is a very slight element of dryness in the tannin that is the signature of a year in which ripening took place in fits and starts. It will be interesting to see if that note softens over time."
Wine Advocate: 94 Points
The 2012 Bolgheri Superiore Ornellaia is very similar to the 2011 Ornellaia that precedes it. These were both hot vintages but 2012 saw the heat towards the end of the growing season. In fact the harvest in 2012 came two weeks earlier than average. This seamless blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (56%) Merlot (27%) Cabernet Franc (10%) and Petit Verdot (7%) shows some of the roundness and softness of that summer heat. The wine's density and extraction are spot-on and the bouquet is beautifully shaped by dark cherry nuances with spice leather and tobacco at the back. There is a gorgeous sense of richness and plushness here. Some 160000 bottles were produced. This edition of Ornellaia is more immediate in character and less suited to the decades-long aging that cooler vintages can affront so successfully.
