Gift from Marco Brunello; opened for the tasting with Cahill's in the restaurant Opal DC... Dark garnet nose, dense in the center. On the nose some black fruit and a touch of camphor and sweet carob. On the palate it is short and raspy with all the tannins. I hope it opens up and develops for the tasting in 1 1/2 hours....Will report on it later. Unfortunately id did not really open up and blossom but remained woody and dull. For my taste too much modern/New World winemaking at play and I am afraid that Tim Heaton was right in his tasting note of 02/02/24. Overall I am finding that - for me - the "Super Tuscans" , apart from early Tignanello, very rarely deliver on the promises made in their marketing hype. For me, another case of "emperor's new clothes" Sorry, Gospodin Rote Kapelle!
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Slow-O two hours, enjoyed over the following two hours. Begins with a cool earthiness, some black and even a few red fruit notes, at first, but by the second glass this becomes rather foursquare. It's tasty, no doubt, but it lacks any real sense of place. The acids/overall freshness here was of a more subdued nature, and thus not very interesting to my palate. Others saw the label and gulped it. I see no reason to wait. recommended
Tasted next to 2006 Dominus. Quite dark still in colour and also rather backward on nose and palate. Blackcurrants, tobacco, spices, grilled herbs on the nose. Lovely concentration of fruit on the palate, slightly spicy, with great tannic structure and well integrated acidity. Harmonious, powerful, elegant and very persistent. Drink/keep. 94-96
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Gary and Danielle visit New Hope (Chez Walker + Italian Cucina, New Hope PA): Our friends visit provided the inspiration to check in on this Ornellaia from a notable vintage. Last tasting was 2017 with G&D as well...Decanted for 3+ hours, rebottled and took to the restaurant (Italian Cucina, New Hope Pa).
Dark garnet color, mild thinning at the edge. Nose was notable, dark fruit, figs, balsamic. Palate showing blackberry, cedar box, balsamic and fig repeating. tobacco. Getting cassis, mineral and French Oak through mid palate. Elegant texture and rich mouthfeel. Full body, long finish.
Aged beautifully at this point. Decant made a major difference- a quick taste when opened, the wine was good but nowhere near the complexity it showed later. Some variation in taster experience on CT may be due to this(?). A big hit, WOTN for us. Long life ahead from here
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Saturated reddish black in color. Room filling perfume of dark florals, cassis, tar, cedar, smoky herbs. Full-bodied with dense and layered smoky dark fruits, hint of leather and tobacco, good acidity, fine and structured tannins and a very long perfumed finish. Superb, aging glacially.
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Wine takes time to wake up and be worthy of its rank.
Balsamic nose of chocolate, smoke and spices.
Smooth mouthfeel despite very intense juice. Spices dominate, with a cocoa background and bright black fruit such as plum. It’s full of richness on a beautiful structure. Excellent balance with acidity which lifts the wine. Beautiful warm finish with tobacco and melted tannins. Great length.
Excellent.
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This started off restrained and cool, but opened up over dinner to show a rich, smokey wine with some dark chocolate and unctuousness. Still, it avoided full on heaviness and was tasty, but next to its more traditional flight mates it failed to wow, being a touch heavy and lacking complexity. Seems like it's ready to drink now, but should hold for a long wine. 90 pts.
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Ornellaia Dinner (Stefani Prime - Lincolnwood IL): Double blind in what turned out to be an Ornellaia vertical, which I correctly identified as an Italian Bordeaux blend. This was the clear star of the flight. Powerful and charming aromas with lots of spice and ripe black fruit. Long and intriguing finish kept getting better with more time in glass. My first time tasting this vintage.
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Incredible. Idk how many vintages of Ornellaia I have had in my life but I can truly say I have never been less than thrilled to drink a bottle. While Solaia and Sassicaia can often seem more impressive, I find Ornellaia to be the most consistent and maybe the most delicious. The 06 is classic with it's flavors of plum, cherry, tar , and noble earthiness. The 06 is among my favorite vintages, including the 1998 and 1993. This was the first bottle opened at Easter dinner, and was the best bottle of the day. Also, sadly the last 06 of my collection. They all were equally impressive/enjoyable.
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Bouquet of ripe berries, preserve, herbs, liquor, undergrowth. Incredibly lush, ripe yet balanced palate, with a nice touch of acidity kicking it mid-palate, followed by a rush of ripe tannins, sweet, leading to a long finish with herbs, more sweetness, salted caramel. Whilst very hedonistic, there is definitively an element of 2006, giving it structure. There is a tannic bite, yet the tannins are very sweet.
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This wind took many many hours to open up. It started out very tight, but after an hour, it started to show its range and by the second and third hour it really started to go nuts. Big bold fruit but still heavy earthiness and dirt on the pallets. Medium finish hi
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Plabella has nailed the essence in a sentence whilst I labour to do the same in1,000 words. Sigh.
I thought the 2001 was better but this has just a little more vivacity (cork in better shape - cue rant about this shitty closure) and almost all the same flavour and intensity. The combination equals stiffy revolution.
The colour is deep garnet with a touch of brick. Combined with nose and palate we are looking at a wine that is entering its drinking window but with many years ahead.
Nose is glorious, intoxicating and makes you want to turn the amp to 15 million, delay as long as possible, maximum wah-wah, overdrive right up and all those who do not believe in Ornellaia must die by steel!
For the detail types amongst you, I got riotous blackcurrant (but not jam), tobacco and leaf, that Tuscan signature of dried herbs, some cedar and a woodsy, forest floor. It adds up to those who doubt, in their final hours, confessing before they die that they are (and always have been) true disciples of the Ornellaia.
The palate follows through from the nose and you have that dilemma; 'this is so great I want more, more, more!' as against, 'savour this moment of heaven in the hell in which we live'. I mostly seem to end up on the side that guzzles its way to Ragnarok.
You may be surprised to know that the tannins are fine and plentiful, dousing you in their splendour. Here is the thing - I found myself drinking the thing for the damned tannins, not the glorious fruit, because they were so ripe, powdery and tasty. Is that ok, or do I need to seek help, urgently before I do something really daft?
I guess the tannins will put some people off, but they are probably the kind of human lint who don't like the smell of horse and cow, who spend hot days inside with the aircon turned up and who fear strong experience. Sod them.
This is the kind of wine that makes me think of General d'Hautpoul, of noble birth he was a strong believer in the revolution and was active weeding out the filthy royalists in the 1790's. He led his cuirassiers from the front, smashing the reactionaries' centre at Austerlitz in a glorious charge that broke up the dreaded infantry squares.
During the brutal winter campaign of 1807, inflicted on France by the reactionary powers of the Coalition, d'Hautpoul was personally congratulated by Bonaparte and turned to his men saying "The Emperor has embraced me on behalf of all of you. And I am so pleased with you that I kiss all your arses."
As we all know, the next day the progressive forces of Europe and the reactionaries blundered into an encounter battle in the snow and sleet and blizzards of Poland, a land beset by vile weather and Catholicism - one deserves the other. Eylau was a grim, 2-day battle. At one point early on, Napoleon was beset by the enemy raging towards him and said to Murat, his cavalry commander 'Well, are you going to let these characters devour us?' Murat and his men launched a desperate charge and drove the swine back, sabering them.
On the second day, in a blizzard, the capable Augerau lost his bearings and when the blizzard cleared his forces were side on to the massed canon of the enemy. In moments over 5,000 men were mown down by grapeshot, chain and ball. The French centre was open and disaster loomed. The only force available was cavalry but cavalry need infantry to open the way. There were no infantry. This was the way the Light Brigade perished at Balaclava.
The French cavalry commanders understood their orders and the necessity. They would have to cross 2.5km's of open ground under shot, at a walk, before they could charge. Then the charge would be into formed infantry supported by gun lines and reserves. This was death.
As the French walked their forces forward under a hail of devastating fire, General Lepic of the Horse Grenadiers observed his men trying to bend down over their horses to minimise themselves as targets and bellowed 'Heads up, gentlemen. Those are bullets not turds!'
The Empire and its allies launched nearly 10,000 cavalry into the charge. Imagine the sound, even in snow. I think of the tannins in Ornellaia.
The big men, on big horses and even the rascally and diminutive hussars broke open the infantry squares, then charging on they reached the gunlines, slashing down the gunners, some spiking the guns or lashing the trails to drag the guns away. Like the weak drinker, the horse were now blown, unable to charge into the third line, the reactionary reserves.
d'Hautpoul summoned his cuirassiers for a last effort, almost unsupported, grotesquely outnumbered. They moved forward, barely able to trot. Somehow, they broke the reserve line. Cossacks sent in to attack them were driven back, their midgety mounts no match for the 16 hand horses of the cuirassiers. Don't mess with ripe tannins.
The Russian infantry of the broken lines showed much courage. they reformed square, cutting off many Imperial units, including d'Hautpoul and his men. He led a further charge, wounded three times. Smashing through the serried ranks he fell in the centre of a Russian infantry square, alive but terribly wounded.
When the reformed Imperial forces (there were Bavarians, Saxons, Wurtembergers, Poles and many more from all over Europe there) drove the reactionary forces back, d'Hautpoul was recovered, barely alive. The surgeons argued about treatment, deciding not to amputate a mangled leg. The General died of gangrene some days later.
Now, I look on my empty glass of Ornellaia (revolutionaries in their own way) and I feel inspired by a wine worthy of the hope for humanity, the love of dignity, the courage of d'Hautpoul, the Emperor Napoleon and all like them who have dared to dream and fight for a better world. When wine makes you feel this way, surely there can be no higher praise?
A very dark colour and an intense, profound wine with concentrated blackcurrant/blackberry fruit and some well covered tannin. Intense and long. Brilliant now, but will keep for years.
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:45 decant Da Fiore Venice A beautiful balanced albeit too young wine This will be a classic Ornellaia in 10 years It’s not as ripe and is more austere and tannic than some other Ornellaia wines
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Zu Coniglio al Sugo. Grossartige Marriage. Allerdings präsentierte sich der Wein trotz einer Stunde im Dekanter verschlossen und entwickelte seine Aromatik nur zurückhaltend - zeigte sich sehr verschlossen. Ungünstiges Trinkfenster?
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A dark colour, and a full, rich, deeply expressive wine with concentrated blackcurrant and blackberry fruit, a little residual tannin and a long finish. Very fine now but may yet improve as the tannin is absorbed further.
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Medium+ nose intensity with notes of black fruits, black currant, toast, smoke and spices. Medium+ acidity and medium tannin. Still youthful, probably only starting its drinking cycle.
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At dinner with friends so no notes. However, as I look at previous notes in 2021 I agree with everyone regarding their impressions. I would only add that the initial nose was quite herbaceous but blew off after about 30 minutes. Also agree it is still quite young and needs more time.
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On the palate, the key word of this wine is concentration. It begins with the attack where the juice is very concentrated, powerful but balanced by an acidity that carries the wine and avoids the heaviness of 15 °. The texture of the wine remains silky so that it remains supple and digestible, on black fruit mixed with tobacco. The wine has a good depth and has a definite potential. Final with melted tannins, quite warm on the leather and the cherry.
Excellent, but in a transition phase, in a mid-world where the tertiary phase has not yet asserted itself in favor of deep and powerful fruit. I will wait 5 years for my next bottles
A dark colour, and a very concentrated, profound wine, with rich blackcurrant and blackberry fruit and a touch of smoke and spice. Very attractive now, and ready to go, but should still improve and keep well for another 10 years or more. A very fine wine.
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Dark red concentrated color, beautiful nose with complexity of floral, fruits and minerals. The palate was wonderful too with velvet feel and long after taste. The only draw back was the age, too young to serve. It could be better in a decade. I guessed it as Sassicaia but turned out to be this wonderful wine!
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Dark red with very slight fading at edges. Ripe plum nose. The palate is beautifully layered with plums, cherries, sweet tobacco. Fully resolved tannins, lovely acidity, great balance. Finishes moderately long with sweet red fruits and spice. In a beautiful place. Drink now and for the next 5 to 7 years to catch its peak.
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Decanted 2 hours In a transition period. Dust leather boot coming out now. Mushroom, sour red cherry, wet forest nose. Seems to be transitioning from the powerful berry to more secondary characteristics. Still has some hints of its mint profile which is synonymous with Ornellia. I was hoping for a bit more. It is clearly in transition. I will wait another 5 years to open my last.
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Super showing. Open and complex nose of brown sugar and fine leather goods. Rounded complex persistent and great length. Still a good deal of tannins to resolve but delicious today
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Wonderful wine with a very stylish bouquet of ripe blueberries, grilled peppers, liquor, undergrowth, vanilla. Incredibly silky, lush and balanced palate, dark, ripe berries, some red berries and mint, freshness, resolved and very sweet yet light tannins, with a very long finish. Fully on first night and even slightly better on the second night, fully in its drinking window with a long life ahead. Such a great treat.
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Bt breathed over 2 hrs, deep red, cassis, plum and hint of menthol spice. Sweet and concentrated on palate, glad there is yhe acidity and ever so slightly dusty tann8n that provided a stern backbone for this big wine. Aa though sipping a great St Estephe. Lomg and slightly oaky finish, plenty of life ahead.
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Full bouquet on the nose, high fruit, slight chalky or Brie cheese nose.
Mild tannins. Black fruit, dark raisin. Full mouth of taste. No burn, soft finish. Enjoyed first glass with homemade ceaser salad.
Second glass with home made chicken parm and garlic bread...powerful and compliments well. Stands great on its own too...worth my anticipation and my treat to myself for this special night.
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- around 2 hours open in the bottle - Nose: A beautiful, medium intense nose with mature notes of truffle, leather and forest floor. Also dark fruit, sultana and blackberries. Very deep and quite fresh! - Mouth: At the first few tastes it is clear that the Ornellaia 2006 is full-bodied and omnipresent, as it shoots into all corners of the mouth. Great back and forth between primary and tertiary aromas, you could spend hours with that glass. More and more I notice truffles or cheese, this has accompanied me with several Ornellaias. The tannins are still there (medium), ripe and give the wine a wonderful structure. In the last part, the wine stands out with a long, structured and balanced finish. - I would have liked to spend a little more time with the Ornellaia 2006 to uncover the secret of its enormous complexity. But there were more great bottles on the programme. - 95+P
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Jazz notes of blackberry with wave washes of plum and just some tadpoles of pepper and spices. A nose like Jim Carrey which finishes like a Canadian hockey team, this bad boy told us all we need to know
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WaW! What a wine! Huge nose - all liquorice early on, but with more air, more refreshing and lighter fruit. Beautifully integrated, amazing length. In brilliant shape right now but easily another 10 years ahead.
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blind italian tasting and 2 people independently brought this wine. interestingly one bottle more funky than the other on which comments are based, but overall the wine was quite consistent nose - barnyard, turned earth, brett, strong funk. less so on bottle #2 mouth - dark fruit, stinky complex and long. i guessed something with cabfranc. excellent showing. drinking well at this stage in my opinion but no risk of fading anytime soon.
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Silky smooth tannins. Flavors of Dark fruits — cherries& blackberries. Notes of dark choclate and espresso on finish . Mountain flower spices intermixed. This is ready to drink, but likely great for another 20+ years. Stunning.
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Deep dark, cassis red. Lightly cedary, black fruits, plums, hints of dark spice. Superb smooth structure. Super fine tannins, fine acidity, long very evening palate. Silky, seamless, but at the same time it has huge impact, very intense flavours. Red and black fruits, sherbet zest, maraschino cherry, cola, licorice. Genuine power, feels a decade from maturity.
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This did not disappoint. Decanted for a few hours. This had all the fruits-black, blue and red, with a full body and texture and a long finish. So much complexity going on in this wine that I’m unable to adequately describe it. This has rendered me speechless but smiling.
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This wine just blew my mind. Decanted for an hour and this was just exquisite out of the gates. Rum Raisin, creme de cassis, cherry, plum, tobacco and leather were all present; This wine has lots of time left and I have another bottle but not sure I’ll wait long because it was so enjoyable
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Stylish bouquet of sweet grilled peppers, stewed, ripe blueberries, vanilla, almond, high end liquor notes with a tiny bit of alcohol and heat. Ripe, lush, sweet, full, silky palate, with quite some acidity and freshness. All the elements are in harmony, the intensity of the fruit neatly integrating toasty and alcoholic notes, the freshness balancing the sweetness, the interplay and delineation of these components creating depth and width. Spices and a structured, tannic backbone on the finish, giving it pressure, some nice subtle bitterness, spiciness and freshness as well as sweetness which echo for quite long. A real pleasure bomb still early in the drinking window. It was great on the first night out of the bottle, a bit more impressive than elegant (typical 2006 Italian vintage), compared to the second night, where it was more balanced and harmonious while still very intense and fresh. Love it!
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Decanted first 3+ hours then slowly sipped it with meats/cheeses/bread. A full bodied wine with complexity and pairing well. A bit on the alcoholic side of you sip alone and vastly aerate it in your mouth but not a reason to take away from this beauty
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Least expressive of the ornellaias tasted tonight, restrained, non descript red fruit profile, med acid and body, sour cherry finish, from 375, could be off bottle; previous example seemed much better.
A thoroughbred of a wine..... Not nearly ready but showing it's potential. We tried in an Italian vertical and while it was no one's wine of the night, everyone wanted to talk about it. Earmarked for much greater things. honestly, I reckon minimum 5 more years before we revisit.
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Lovely wine! You totally get the acidity profile on this. As a result it is really salivating. Definitely complex with layers of flavour. Dark fruit but brightened by the acidity. Doesn’t come across as heavy on the alcohol at all. A treat to have this but for me this isn’t a wine I would crave again for the price. Maybe we drunk it too fast as we took it to a restaurant so it didn’t get a long decant which I think it would benefit from.
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Décidément ce n’est pas mon millésime préféré! Ouvert 60 minutes avant consommation. Couleur grenat très foncé, arômes proches d’un amarone, compotés, la bouche est fruitée, pulpeuse mais manque de complexité, il y a heureusement une petite touche d’acidité qui « tient » le vin, finale sur des tanins légèrement farineux. Ma préférence va au 2011, 2012 ou même au 2002.
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Bouquet of plums, violets, mint leaves, wet stones, creme, with a whiff of Woods cough syrup. Tasted black fruits, liquorice, mint leaves, espresso, tobacco, with herb and spice tertiaries. Warm and menthol finish. Enjoyed this bottle tonight but wasn’t special. This should get better with a few more years. Hold
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Tasted casually. Decent concentration and fruit, but simple and unremarkable. Galloni says it is a “massive, towering masterpiece.” Are we drinking the same wine?
Tuscany 2006 (Winicjatywa): very dark with ruby rim. nose: sweet macerated fruits; sweet prunes; rich and pleasant. taste: aweet cherries, ripe sweet strawberries; large tannins volume - ripe; medium acidity; very long finish. excellent.
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First time I had the 2006 was in a restaurant in Puglia, served out of a warm cellar, where the wine, popped and poured, immediately was fully on, lush, dark fruits, a real pleasure bomb although slightly too warm. This time in the mountains out of a cold cellar, the wine was more elegant, fine acidity yet still ripe, as it warmed up approaching more the hedonistic experience in Puglia. Such good material and wine making. Don’t see much upside but a longer plateau ahead, where the youthful freshness and intensity is gradually substituted by more sophistication and secondary/tertiary elements. What a great wine!
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Delicious... If decanted 2+ hours and served at 18 degrees C. Was quite hot when I let the temp creep up but cooled and was deep dark and delicious with excellent line and length. I don’t think she will improve hugely. Very enjoyable
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A good wine friend's 50th birthday. (@ PCr): Dark berries and Cabernet Sauvignon impressions in the bouquet. On the palate bell pepper, good berries and sweet spices. Beautiful and juicy wine.
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Separate vinification of 50-60 plots, blended after 12 months in barriques, bottled after a total of 18 months in barriques. Released after 12 months in bottle.
Still young and a little austere on the nose. Blue fruit, black currant, blyerts, cedar, herbs, coffee, violet, spices and some roasted notes.
Grippy tannins, a little warm and harsh. Improves significantly with time in glass.
BV=3 WV=4 (mine)
Very different opinions in the group.
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Dark! This is Napa-esque. Extraction city with black and red fruit...cassis and clove on the nose. Fresh squeezed blackberries and charred grilled cherry. Tannic and in need of a few years to enter a prime drinking window.
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PNP. Seems a bit tight. Maybe should have decanted. Very powerful wine. It seems very young. Probably needs another 5 years at least. It has the standard Ornellaia mint raspberry flavor that is beautiful, but seems to be too powerful right now. The tannins are very strong as well. I like it, but I like the 04 more.
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Drunk one bottle over two days. This is how I like Bordeaux :) Deep, garnet color almost inky. Beautiful, intense nose of a classic BDX: Black fruit, tobacco, oak, leather, herbs, some espresso and cacao. Complex and multi-layered. Dry, high acidity balances the rather 15-16% abv quite well. Full bodied, firm and not yet fully integrated ripe tannin. On the palate blackberry, cherries, dark chocolate, smoke, espresso. Silky and mouthcoating without being fat or broad. Long, lingering finish with a touch of hotness. Still very young and with a great potential for the next decade. 94++
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Italian Wine Night in Philadelphia (Union League Club's Cellar 62): Another great wine at the Italian wine night...This was a bruiser and still quite young. It comes in at 15% ABV as marked on the label, but I suspect it is actually more like 16%. The color is a dense, dark, opaque garnet purple. The nose is very fragrant with vanilla, herbs, chocolate, black fruit and the expected whiff of alcohol. It is very big, dense and chewy on the palate with considerable but starting to integrate tannins. Flavors include blackberry, black plum, spice box and dried oregano with a noticeably alcoholic finish. This is a very modern-styled wine right up the alley of a certain wine writer who shall remain un-named. It is certainly powerful and masculine, but stylistically less to my liking as I prefer elegant, subtle, rounder wines. The alcohol for me is a bit of a negative showing a bit out of balance which is why my score may be a few points below those who prefer this style. I think it still needs 5-10 years to settle into something I would find more attractive, if the alcohol doesn't skew it more toward the out of balance end of the spectrum over time. I do have some of this in my cellar since this is my youngest daughter's birth year and I want something that can last well into her 20's which I hope this will.
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Decanted for Italian Wine night in the cellar at Union League. A very precise spice box nose, some oak vanilla. Dense red cherries, oak, soft tannins. Firm and fully packed. I really loved this wine, but it was outshone by others on the table; I'd rank it 3rd or 4th favorite of the night.
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Garnet and very youthful despite entering its second decade. Not entirely open, yet brooding with good stuff. Smooth and refined on the palate. Will be really nice in 2-3 years. Drinkable now, but should be better with plenty of decant (3 hour plus).
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Base neck, non carafé mais ouvert 1 heure avant de servir. Couleur quasi violette, joli nez sur les cassis, le café, le cacao. En bouche, le vin est massif, sensuel, flatteur mais les tanins tapissent le palais, légèrement farineux. Longueur moyenne. Il me manque la finesse ici. Petite déception peut-être due à la bouteille?
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Dark garnet color turning crimson at the rim with a thin orange band before turning a reflective edge. Perfumed aromas jump out of the glass featuring black fruits, iodine, black tea, dark roasted coffee bean, and smoke. Round, ripe flavors of blackberry, black cherry, dark chocolate, espresso, graphite and scorched oak dominate this full-bodied, powerful wine with a silky lining. This is excellent and a bit modern in style - not quite as much as the 2007, but that's never a bad thing. Finishes persistently long, elegant and intense. This is nothing short of a blockbuster. Drink now until 2031.
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Still dark and young. Marked difference in the bouquet from the two Bordeaux tasted along side. We could be getting only 50-60pct of the nose that a Ornellaia can give at its peak. Lots of fruits and rich on the palate. A ted sweet. Tannins easily detected. Can be enjoyed now but I would wait another 3-5 years. 2004 Ornellaia is a better option now.
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During a CabSav Dinner. Dark ruby, Nose of dark ripe fruit, lots of oak, sweet spices. Rich palate, on the sweeter side. Good fruit but I wish for more tannins and acidity to balance it. Solid but just a tad too sweet for me to give 95 points.
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very interesting pairing at a dinner with fantastic wines. served with a deconstructed carrot salad, turned to work very well. Still has a bit of tannic grip, but the dark berry and mocha notes are dominate. Behind the primary flavors there is smoke and underbrush for a very balanced wine
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Well this is interesting finally had the guts to open one of my three bottles. Still youthful, but just a ridiculously balanced example of what wine should be. This could get better. Amazingly not there yet. Too early at ten years in.....
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Dinner with Gary and Danielle at Rat's, wanted to check in on this as it passes it's 10th bday. Drank this after an 03 Montrose. Decanted about 2 hours before drinking (re-bottled for the restaurant).
Dark core purple/garnet color, no signs of age. Nose jumps out of the glass - dark berries, minerals and floral notes. Palate showing blackberry, tart blueberry, cedar box, licorice, smoke and floral notes. Long and layered finish, tannins sweetened.
A real "wow" wine very early in its development. Decant is a must with the wine at this juncture. Should be a 30 year wine from here? Really incredible against some tough competition. WOTN for our group.
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PNP Great vibrant nose. Tannins seem very strong still. Blueberry, raspberry, and cedar, eucalyptus, and black licorice on the nose. Nice structure and excellent silky mouth feel. Alcohol seems a little strong, but not overwhelming. Black licorice mixed with strawberry and raspberry, and eucalyptus on flavor. Nice fruit and a bit of wood or mushroom comes out on the nose. Great wine.
One year since we last sipped this dynamite Super Tuscan! Our Italian friend from Naples proposed marriage to us as he sipped...much to the chagrin of his luvly wife. We did not accept, of course. However, we appreciated and understood the sentiment. Rock star wine!
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56% Cab Sauv, 27% Merlot, 12% Cab Franc, 5% Petit Verdot. Surprisingly, the drinking window on this bottle appears much different than the last bottle. Quicker maturation likelky due to the cork that wicked almost entirely to the top. Unusual, so no rating...although was still very good.
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2006 Ornellaia is very modern with oak, cedarwood, ink and big dark fruit. Its a parker style wine which I dont enjoy very much. It lacks the finesse and smoothness of the older Ornellaia that I really like.
Bold and ripe cabernet-based wine. Serious and delicious purply fruit with excellent intensity and grip. Finishes tannic with notes of minerals ans Asian spices. One of the best Ornellaia's I've tried and I like drinking it now with a long decant but it clearly needs a bit more time for the tannins to resolve. 92+
Tuscany 2006 Ten years after. (@ SvdV): In the bouquet ripe dark cherries, dark berries, very luxurious oak and cedar, sweet spices and a soft toast. On the palate ripe dark berries and cherries as well, leather, herbs, a touch of sweetness, good acidity and round tannin with still a firm bite. Great length! This is a great beauty in its very early maturity stage. We were unanimous that the Sassicaia was a bit better tonight, and it would be great to blind taste the two beside each other again 5 years from now ;-). There is a good future in the Ornellaia!
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56% Cabernet, 27% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot. 18 meses em barricas novas de carvalho francês (12m após, faz-se o corte e torna ao estágio por mais 8m já em blend) e mais 1 ano em garrafa. Vermelho-rubi escuro, algo opaco e muita seriedade em um nariz ao mesmo tempo cativante e fresco com frutas vermelhas e negras maduras, carvalho, defumados, couro e ponta de lápis. Amplo, exuberante, poderoso e voraz, sua boa acidez confere tensão por toda a prova, taninos gulosos e doces tomam o palato, muita profundidade, cauda espessa e complexa com belo rebote mineral. Um mito. Mais aristocrático que o 2008.
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Beautiful wine. Powerful.Tobacco, dark fruits, mint, herbs. Firm tannin, good acidity, pure dark fruits on the palate and a long finish. This will be fantastic with another decade in bottle.
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From memory this 2006 version of Orneillaia seems slightly inkier and beefier than the composed outstanding 2004 vintage. But in time the '06 may develop some of the complexity and nuance the older vintage now has. Nevertheless, this 2006 is very enjoyable and very drinkable now, with the Cabernet Sauvignon clearly dominating. Ripe tannins and adequate acidity frame the fruit nicely. A winner.
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The youngest of them all, even younger than the 2011. Dark chocolate, plum, sweet spices. Full-bodied, firm tannins. Needs time to resolve but good balance overall. Very long aftertaste. Very promising but an infant at this stage.
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We were enjoying a Les Freres Marchand 20 Cheese Dinner at home with friends when we sipped this wine. This would have been the WOTN, but when she meets all your expectations and is this good, well, you have to let another gal step up to the podium (the 2009 Cigluti Barbaresco Serraboella)
Having said that, we think our comment in April remains the same...a winner and singing beautifully now:
"The Estate's flagship wine dating back to 1985, this "Super Tuscan" is a blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot. After Sassicaia, this is our favourite "Italian Bordeaux". A dark ruby red with a complex, titillating and rich nose. A powerful, voracious, slightly sweet, nice tannins and great balance greets your palate ending with a long, elegant finish. Wow!!! The wines rested for 18 months in barrels (12 before blending, 6 blended) and another 12 months in the bottle before the release. These folks work hard and deserve a big Hallelujah, Praise the good people of Ornellaia!!!"
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Wow, wow, wow!!! We just finished our last sip of the dynamite wine - we "opened" via Coravin in June - in mid-August. Good on ya, Coravin. This is awesome still :-)
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Very powerful with aromas of dark berries, cassis, tobacco, vanilla and spices. Quite some grip om the palate. This will need 2-3 more years to reach the drinking window.
Decanted for 1-1/2 hrs before traveling to Crimson Sparrow, Hudson, NY. Served last, intense black fruits, lead pencil, crushed violets. Extended aftertaste.
Decanted for an hour then let stand for another 3 before consuming this with a large group on July 4th at Le Bleu Raisin in Montreal. Rich dark fruit and spices on the nose. The Palate was so polished and smooth with moderate acidity and a long finish. No doubt this was a young wine in the early part of its drinking window. Will wait another few years before trying the next bottle.
Another super sip via Coravin. Vanilla on the nose. Smooth and soft tannins on the palate. Great fruit. Music on our palate. Near perfect balance...we would have preferred a bit more grip, but happy nonetheless.
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Same comment as 4/18/2015 tasting note EXCEPT luckily we had a small sip via Coravin. Oh our ears and whiskers...just like we opened the bottle, but we will enjoy over the next few weeks or so! Blessed be...
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Outstanding, well made wine with unparalleled suppleness and elegance. Lives up to its billing as one of the premier Super Tuscans. Entering the beginning of it's drinking window. Worth every penny.
Hosted a wine party where we tasted many great wines blind including wines such as Gaja and Heitz but this wine stood well above the rest. Inky dark color with a bouquet of dark fruit. The first taste has an inexplicable expression of freshness, dark fruit, ending with some spice. Full bodied, perfect balance of acidity, chewy refined tannins. Long long finish. If you don't know what an elegant exceptional wine tastes like, try this one. Already drinking great now.
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The Estate's flagship wine dating back to 1985, this "Super Tuscan" is a blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot. After Sassicaia, this is our favourite "Italian Bordeaux". A dark ruby red with a complex, titillating and rich nose. A powerful, voracious, slightly sweet, nice tannins and great balance greets your palate ending with a long, elegant finish. Wow!!! The wines rested for 18 months in barrels (12 before blending, 6 blended) and another 12 months in the bottle before the release. These folks work hard and deserve a big Hallelujah, Praise the good people of Ornellaia!!!
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Detta vin borde jag ha satt blint med tanke på hur många gånger tidigare jag har druckit det. Så småningom hamnade vi i alla fall i Bolgheri. En doft med körsbär, björnbär, piptobak, ceder, örter, choklad och en underbar rosendoft. I smaken ett väldigt koncentrerat, fruktigt och koncentrerat vin. Kanske inte så elegant som jag kom ihåg, men ack så gott. Bra balans och otrolig eftersmak som bara fortsätter.
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I last had this wine a few years ago and remember thinking it needs some time. Whilst it is still relatively young, I found it more tannic than most Ornellaia and hard to see the underlying fruit or structure that will redeem it over time. I have always enjoyed Ornellaia and visiting the vineyard only strengthened my support for their wines. Maybe I just got a dodgy batch but this is the third bottle that has been sub-par.
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2014 New York Wine Experience Trip; 10/14/2014-10/21/2014 (New York City, NY): A blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot, this deep ruby wine flaunts black fruit aromatics, supported by licorice, smoke, tar and loamy earth. Full-bodied, freshly acidic and seamlessly alcoholic on the palate, it supports black fruit, fig and spice flavors with heavyweight, firm tannins. There is good persistence in the middle and the finish is long, albeit quite tannic. Still needing more time, there is no doubt that this masculine wine is a diamond in the rough. Drink 2019-2035.
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Ett riktigt bra Toscana vin!!! Otrolig doft med björnbär, italienska söta örter, piptobak, choklad och en underbar rosendoft. I smaken ett väldigt koncentrerat, fruktigt och bjussigt vin. Kanske inte så elegant som jag kom ihåg, men ack så gott. Bra balans och otrolig eftersmak som bara fortsätter.
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Intense. Dark fruits, graphite and tar. A stunning wine with years ahead of it but I was itching to try it. Weighty, chewy and fully engaging now, even with very little time in the decanter (first glass was via coravin but couldn't resist finishing the bottle.
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Big and bold, tannic and expressive. The concentration and thickness are massive, coating the palate with each sip. The palate combines dark fruits with leather, spice, vanilla and kirsch in a rather tight package, which needs more time to open. You can tell that the tannins are starting to mellow, but in a few years, this wine will be smooth and delicious. It's heading in the right direction.
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Like? No. Love this wine. Broke open a bottle with some close family and it was the talk of the evening. Good notes of berries across the palate and a nice smooth finish after some decanting. Though the tasting window is still a few years off by some standards, this one seems like it's hitting its stride. A knockout and should be shared with your closest friends or if you need to really impress.
96+ pts. Wow. This wine is stunningly good. Blackberry ,currant, blueberry jam, and some Asian spice. So harmonious and elegant, with perfect balance and tremendous structure. Pure silk on the mouth and delicious rich layered finish. Seamless. More to come but very tasty at the moment. This is a special wine for sure.
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Popped and poured. Inky blackish purple in color with tinged of red at the edges. Black currant on the nose. Smooth mouthfeel. Sweet, jammed blackberries all day long. Spicy aftertaste, but not at all like the green pepper taste of the 2007 Masseto I had. Got much better after one hour, and it left me wishing for more. Wonderfully balanced wine!
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Offline at new Bentley CBD: Mint, truffle, camphor, raspberry, kirsch and raspberry aromas - building layer upon layer each time you go back to it. Powerful, driven palate with acidity keeping it bright. Really needs another 10 years as it is all power and only slight nuance on the palate at the moment.
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Decanted for two hours, and finished the next night. Almost black, with a garnet hue, then a thin ruby rim. Copious amounts of blackberry, tobacco pipe, rose petal, milk chocolate, sweet basil, rosemary, button mushroom and scorched earth. Full and velvety, then burlesque and engaging on the profoundly long finish. Undoubtedly one of the best Ornellaias ever - and if anything, this has actually improved with age. With lengthy a decant, this Tuscan Juno is completely ready to consume. Not meek, yet still regal. Drink 2015 - 2035.
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Right now the wine is in a bit of an awkward state. The tannins are coming across hard and dominant. The depth is there and the promise is exciting but it appears to need 5 more years to soften and allow the layers of fruit to come shine. With a very long decant you can taste the underlying material which is delightful.
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Credo che questa che mi sto accingendo a fare, sia la recensione più difficile che mi sia mai capitata.
Ore 18:00 apro questo campione nel mondo di eccellenza italiana. Le aspettative sono superate. Appena aperto naso e palato incredibili. Naso di grafite, mirtillo, vaniglia e liquirizia. Palato altrettanto meraviglioso: cioccolato, una punta di tabacco, liquirizia, vaniglia. e tanta altra roba che la mia imperizia non riesce a decifrare. Che meraviglia. Penso: se è così appena aperto chissà tra qualche ora. Ore 20:30 tutto si è spento. Monocorde, ed io e mia moglie facciamo fatica a finirlo. Questo vino è come un dragster, un centometrista; da tutto subito ma alla prima curva si spegne. La stoffa c'è ma è limitata al solo primo impatto. Ti fa sognare ma non mantiene quello che ti promette. E' un vino piacione, costruito per stupire subito e per vincere nelle degustazioni in serie che non permettono approfondimenti per mancanza di tempo. Un vino senza identità e senza carattere. Ha tutto e niente. Questo vino, si muove al contrario dei grandi bordeaux in cui mi sono fortunatamente imbattuto (chateau Margaux 98 e Gruaud larose 2000) dove appena aperti non sanno di niente e diventano meravigliosi solo dopo una buona ossigenazione. Conclusione: Mi è piaciuto? Si. Lo ricomprerei? NO! (sigh ho una bottglia del 2009). Non penso che lasciarlo lì possa migliorare le cose. Spero di sbagliarmi. 94 appena aperto, 90 dopo 2 ore. Considerato però il prezzo elevato non posso che dare un 89 punti.
Fabulous bottle - popped and poured form a 375! So big and powerful, yet smooth and incredibly flavorful. Lots of big red fruit, and a huge nose. The 06 seems as if it might just be hitting its stride now. Can't wait to enjoy what I have left over the next few years. Rating tonight is a bit more critical, as this was consumed alongside the legendary '96 Chateau Margaux. We started with the Margaux and then progressed to the Ornellaia. The Ornellaia was like a young bucking bronco compared to the Clydesdale Margaux. (with TF Nov 14).
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Wow! Popped and poured from a 375m. Amazing nose, incredible fruit and some vanilla undetones. An absolute beauty! So powerful and yet so smooth. Probably still too early, but it's so hard to resist.
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Drank at Home Amazing complexity with a profound palate. It is on the cross roads between new and old world. One of the best Ornellaia out there and its getting better.
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My first Ornellaia. 90 min decant. A nose with dark fruit and anise, then on the palate blueberry pie, coffee, spices, some chocolate, a touch of oak. Big, full bodied and highly concentrated but well balanced (15% alcohol!) with fine but very dense tannins, beautiful long finish. 93-94 This is a delicious wine, my main problem is that it does not work with food. Was looking for a wine that could match two different pastas at home (bolognese and pesto), and the rest of the bottle would work with a steak on day 2. Decided to try this over a 04 Tignanello and a few Brunellos, but that was a bad choice. The wine works as dessert on its own, but it's too sweet and too rich and the acidity is too low to match salty and fat food. Secondly, would have guessed high quality Aussie Shiraz blind - if you are looking for a "typical" SuperTuscan, this is not it.
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Outstanding bottle! Super fruit forward nose. Love the cabernet strength and silky smooth tannins. I think this would be good for many more years. This was a 375m.
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Double-decanted three hours prior to pouring. Beautifully integrated, nicely balanced, concentrated with wonderful complexity in the mid palate. Drank nicely, however will only benefit with more time in the cellar. Don't plan to pull another one for a few years, but very glad that I sampled one bottle now.
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From half bottle. Dark red color. Gorgeous nose of cool black fruit, tobacco, earth, and violets. In the mouth, the balance is sublime, with great concentration and achingly good purity to the fruit and more complex notes. Cassis, tobacco, earth, herbs, and a floral note. This just glides across the palate with effortless power. A phenomenally pleasing wine that shows no seams even as it flexes its acidity and tannins. A
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Seductive, showed its Bordelais aspect and Italian aspect. A Franco-Italy mix?I really like its truffle and plummy, floral nose. The touch is souple, pure and deep. It's quite good to enjoy now.
Tenuta dell' Ornellaia (The Wine Summit at the Post Hotel in Lake Louise): 56% CS, 27% M, 12% CF, 5% PV. Dark black purple - full to the rim; aromas mellow bark berry fruit - no herbaceous character; pleasing entry - sweet black currants, some spice; exceptional concentration - intense and persistent; extends out to a long finish - harmony. Very very good!
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Drank randomly after a bottle of aglianico with turkey burgers and then raspberry m&ms. Aglianico was agressive and young, and the ornellaia sophisticaed and smooth. Overtones of anise and raspberry (or is that the m&ms?), fairly perfect now dont think aging will improve it but hey we drank this beauty with turkey burgers what do we know?
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What incredible stuff. It reminds me of the Bordeaux '09s. Still very young but an amazing depth and balance with silky smooth tannins. The fruit hits you from the start.
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A great wine and tasted alongside the Sassicaia 2006. The Ornellaia came across as slightly closed at this stage and aromatically not as developed and expressive as the Sassicaia. Drinking ok now but tannins still need to soften.
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Two properties that for me fits a quality wine: dense mouth feel, and fine sandy tannines. It has that, and do also feel kind of soft. A gigantic wine but surely a baby, and not really delicious today. Good potential. 93+
Decanted for 4 h. Open nose with oak, spice and plum. The palate is beatiful. Big fruit with a lot of back up of acid, oak and tannin. Harmonius and is perfect now but will probably be even better.
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Decanter Sassicaia & Ornellaia Masterclass (Landmark Hotel London): Dark ruby with a narrow garnet rim. Expressive and developing nose. Macerated plummy and black berry fruit, old sweet spice, oaky notes, coffee, some refined leather and hints of ink. Slight jammy and raisiny notes reveal a warm dry year. Palate has the usual smooth texture, it is refined, elegant and ripe. Sweet spice and macerated dark berry fruit, notes of cedar in this medium to full bodied wine. Tannins are firm but silky and acidity supports the fruit. Juicy and soft wine, despite the tannins, which is ready to drink but can keep on developing for ten years at least. Seems more complex than the 2009 and this is natural since it has the benefit of being older, yet it seems a slightly more profound wine.
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I had this wine at the die Frescobaldi restaurant at Harrods in London. The first glass was just outright bad: oxidized, acidic and it even seemed to be corked. I sent it back. Amazing that they served such a bad glass in a restaurant owned by the producer themselves.... It appeared that the bottle was open for 3 days! In addition to that I had a very bad experience with the main course, but this is a wine TN, not a restaurant review. Good thing is that the second glass was a superb glass of wine, and the Serre Nuove '08 I had during the same lunch also was a real treat.
The second bottle was popped and poured. I feared that it would be closed and muted, the opposite was true:
The wine had a deep ruby/red color, almost black at the core. The aromas where full and enticing with loads of blackberry, blueberry some sweet tobacco and hints of eucalyptus and smoke. Full bodied not the palate with loads of fresh fruit, mouth coating and smooth tannins and balanced acidity. The finish was long and fresh. As expressive as it was on the nose, the palate and finish still seemed somewhat holding back, though the mouthfeel was superb. I think this wine has quite some life (and upside) ahead, perhaps even deserving one or two notches up. But its delicious right now. Drink now - 2018.
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A good bottle but not worth the money - maybe at $40 but you are paying for the label, not the product. This was very juicy and more acidic than other vintages, especially the current vintage. Ornellaia tastes more like a CA wine but this vintage is distinctly Italian
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@Rifugio Guglielmina Initially closed with oak, alcohol an pepper on bot nose and palate. Gradually opens up and reveals young fruit with cerry and plum. Warm, big bodied, with noticable tannin and medium+ acidity. The alcohol is a bit too noticable at times. Exceptionally long, beautiful finish. Gets better with time in the glass. It's just too young and will improve with further cellaring.
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Wednesday Night Blind - June 2010 (Peter Pratt's Inn): tasted blind - I decanted this wine for my friend (who bought it) for over 7hrs. It was still tight and unyielding. I really like what it offered, but think that so much more is in store for those who open this wine in 5+yrs time. This is screaming to be laid down for a good long nap. The color is dark, nearly black. Very meaty, brambly spice. It really woke up when tasted with the Lamb Bolognese.
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Saturday Tasting Group (Knightsbridge Wine Shop (Northbrook, IL)): Alot of hype surrounding this vintage of Ornellaia. Really nice complete wine. A little rusty raspberries coupled with intriguing tarry play. Spicy pretty cotton and fresh linen doused with yellow curry powder. Lovely acidity and well integrated tannins. This is really young but shows serious promise to age well. Medium bodied - a sexy finesse driven feminine bottling. Shows great mid-palate. Again, just an overall well made wine. Absolutely classic Italian qualities and structure.
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Really nice Ornellaia that needs time, but has been hard to let rest as it's very nice now. Really ripe, dark, opulent fruits. Full bodied. Rich blackberry liqueur notes. Firm tannins. Very nice.
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Decanted the better part of a day. Super rich, purple, dark fruits. Big wine. Dense and round. Full bodied, with lots of stuffing. Really nice Ornellaia.
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Dark and Deep ruby red. Blackberry an blueberry, sweet spices, chocolate. Full bodied, extraordinary fine and smooth. Very long finish of black fruit and licuorice
Rosso rubino cupo, impenetrabile. Frutti neri: ribes mirtollo bellissima speziatura. Cioccolato. In bocca e pieno morbido, tannini finissimi. Fino davvero fine. Finale di frutta nera e liqurizia
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OMG, this is gorgeous! Painfully young and tightly coiled. Pure and clean, and that depth of flavour. Dark berries, chocolate, coffee, tar and that haunting oak nuance. Very attractive. A little tiring on the palate to drink now. But I can imagine the immense pleasure it stand to offer several years down the road. A bottle to keep. 94+
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This is what I want in a bourdeaux blend, massive structure with enough luscious fruit to enjoy now, as with all Italian wines, rocked with food, should be a legend in the making
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I can not finished the bottle. nothing's interesting. Oak, fruit, big, tight, good finish in the mouth then becomes deep impact. Even 4-5 hours passed by, I didn't feel any changes. It is like an Australia or California wine. Wasted my time and my emotional feeling in the still of the night.
One good thing : Now I know that I should stop buying this wine. IMO, too expensive and boring. The 2004 is much better in nosing, texture, absolutely classic in style. My friend in Zurich said Ornellaia is not the long-live wine and I think it's true.
ps. If I taste only 1 glass, I would rate it 95+/100...a wine to taste but not to test...to enjoy !!!
...next day...in the morning...I taste it again...so sad, that's too bad...nothing changes...all it needs is a miracle.
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Amazing wine. Huge nose. Tons of fruit. Very penetrating on the palate. Wonderful compliment to my lamb dish. Super long finish. Would love to taste again in a decade. A stunner.
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Ripe, concentrated modern wine that could be from anywhere. Nothing offensive about it, and OK if you like plush, soft and fairly simple--i.e., just ripe fruit-- flavors. Do these develop more character as they age? Because right now this just isn't very interesting. Price is totally irrational.
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Very dark, almost opaque. Bold, velvety on the nose with clean dark cherry fruit, plums and blackberries, bitter chocolate and some coal, a bit New World-ish, but not just a stereotypical dark fruit-bomb as it still had a nicely balancing, fresh note to it. Fullbodied, lush, very spicy, exuberantly fruity, young, with plums, pepper and cacao powder on the palate, very tannic, somewhat mineral after it calms down a bit. Dry tannic aftertaste with dark, generously spiced berries. Somewhat better next day, chocolaty and not so hot.
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Popped and poured so was a little worried - needn't have been. No notes taken but this had structure and a backbone covered with a lush plumpness allowing great drinking straight from the bottle. Not sure air will help much as this was good to go.
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Very primary but showing what is to be expected from this future masterpiece. Very dark, inky, almost black. Very elegant nose, despite 15% alcohol. Shy now but displaying aromas of blackberry, graphite, moca and tar. Full-bodied, perfectly structured and balanced with a long, long finish. Built to last. According to my experience with previous Ornellaia vintages, this will be more expressive than now after a year or so, and will reach its full potential from 2014.
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Full, modern, flashy ripe wine. Sweet dark Cabernet Fruits. Big wine. Well structured. Not the slightly off-putting candied aspect I found in the last bottle. Very enjoyable.
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Monster of a wine. Dark and inky, and a nose like a modern cult cab with dark fruits and graphite notes. Softer, very ripe and opulent palate - some significant vanilla oak influence. Big fine-grain structure. Seems a departure from past vintages of this, in that it's a very plumped, "big" wine. Needs time, but impressive elements.
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Knightsbridge Weekly Group: Wow! Aromas of dark sweet spicy black fruits showing great density and mineral lift. Ripe dark sweet black fruits in big boy style. Dense and ripe with dark chocolate and plenty of supporting acid and fine sweet tannins already integrated well. Served blind most guessed high level Bordeaux blend from new world and seemed like a real crowd pleaser for bunch of wine geeks. Shows breed, complexity and potential to improve. Very impressive stuff. 96+
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2/13/2024 - Bandreas Does not like this wine:
Gift from Marco Brunello; opened for the tasting with Cahill's in the restaurant Opal DC...
Dark garnet nose, dense in the center.
On the nose some black fruit and a touch of camphor and sweet carob.
On the palate it is short and raspy with all the tannins.
I hope it opens up and develops for the tasting in 1 1/2 hours....Will report on it later.
Unfortunately id did not really open up and blossom but remained woody and dull. For my taste too much modern/New World winemaking at play and
I am afraid that Tim Heaton was right in his tasting note of 02/02/24.
Overall I am finding that - for me - the "Super Tuscans" , apart from early Tignanello, very rarely deliver on the promises made in their marketing hype.
For me, another case of "emperor's new clothes"
Sorry, Gospodin Rote Kapelle!
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2/2/2024 - Tim Heaton Likes this wine:
Slow-O two hours, enjoyed over the following two hours. Begins with a cool earthiness, some black and even a few red fruit notes, at first, but by the second glass this becomes rather foursquare. It's tasty, no doubt, but it lacks any real sense of place. The acids/overall freshness here was of a more subdued nature, and thus not very interesting to my palate. Others saw the label and gulped it. I see no reason to wait. recommended
https://www.ItalianWine.blog
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1/23/2024 - rossi.wine wrote: 95 Points
Tasted next to 2006 Dominus. Quite dark still in colour and also rather backward on nose and palate. Blackcurrants, tobacco, spices, grilled herbs on the nose. Lovely concentration of fruit on the palate, slightly spicy, with great tannic structure and well integrated acidity. Harmonious, powerful, elegant and very persistent. Drink/keep. 94-96
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1/13/2024 - walkerjfw wrote: 97 Points
Gary and Danielle visit New Hope (Chez Walker + Italian Cucina, New Hope PA): Our friends visit provided the inspiration to check in on this Ornellaia from a notable vintage. Last tasting was 2017 with G&D as well...Decanted for 3+ hours, rebottled and took to the restaurant (Italian Cucina, New Hope Pa).
Dark garnet color, mild thinning at the edge. Nose was notable, dark fruit, figs, balsamic. Palate showing blackberry, cedar box, balsamic and fig repeating. tobacco. Getting cassis, mineral and French Oak through mid palate. Elegant texture and rich mouthfeel. Full body, long finish.
Aged beautifully at this point. Decant made a major difference- a quick taste when opened, the wine was good but nowhere near the complexity it showed later. Some variation in taster experience on CT may be due to this(?). A big hit, WOTN for us. Long life ahead from here
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1/3/2024 - devraj Likes this wine: 96 Points
Saturated reddish black in color. Room filling perfume of dark florals, cassis, tar, cedar, smoky herbs. Full-bodied with dense and layered smoky dark fruits, hint of leather and tobacco, good acidity, fine and structured tannins and a very long perfumed finish. Superb, aging glacially.
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11/17/2023 - paul wrote:
people loved
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11/5/2023 - Benoit Hardy Likes this wine: 95 Points
Wine takes time to wake up and be worthy of its rank.
Balsamic nose of chocolate, smoke and spices.
Smooth mouthfeel despite very intense juice. Spices dominate, with a cocoa background and bright black fruit such as plum. It’s full of richness on a beautiful structure. Excellent balance with acidity which lifts the wine. Beautiful warm finish with tobacco and melted tannins. Great length.
Excellent.
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9/16/2023 - Pavan wrote: 95 Points
Amazing, vibrant, full on the nose, rich and structured, alcohol and excellent length
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9/14/2023 - blanquito wrote:
This started off restrained and cool, but opened up over dinner to show a rich, smokey wine with some dark chocolate and unctuousness. Still, it avoided full on heaviness and was tasty, but next to its more traditional flight mates it failed to wow, being a touch heavy and lacking complexity. Seems like it's ready to drink now, but should hold for a long wine. 90 pts.
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8/11/2023 - Scottlmatthews Likes this wine: 96 Points
Had at local restaurant in West Vancouver. Notes to follow…
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8/1/2023 - Burgundy Al wrote: 96 Points
Ornellaia Dinner (Stefani Prime - Lincolnwood IL): Double blind in what turned out to be an Ornellaia vertical, which I correctly identified as an Italian Bordeaux blend. This was the clear star of the flight. Powerful and charming aromas with lots of spice and ripe black fruit. Long and intriguing finish kept getting better with more time in glass. My first time tasting this vintage.
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4/26/2023 - d.f.c Likes this wine: 95 Points
Lovely nose, scent of plum, mineral and fresh frass. Long finish with balanced alocohol and tannins.
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4/9/2023 - tropa56 Likes this wine: 97 Points
Incredible. Idk how many vintages of Ornellaia I have had in my life but I can truly say I have never been less than thrilled to drink a bottle. While Solaia and Sassicaia can often seem more impressive, I find Ornellaia to be the most consistent and maybe the most delicious. The 06 is classic with it's flavors of plum, cherry, tar , and noble earthiness. The 06 is among my favorite vintages, including the 1998 and 1993. This was the first bottle opened at Easter dinner, and was the best bottle of the day. Also, sadly the last 06 of my collection. They all were equally impressive/enjoyable.
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4/1/2023 - Édifice Likes this wine: 97 Points
Bouquet of ripe berries, preserve, herbs, liquor, undergrowth. Incredibly lush, ripe yet balanced palate, with a nice touch of acidity kicking it mid-palate, followed by a rush of ripe tannins, sweet, leading to a long finish with herbs, more sweetness, salted caramel. Whilst very hedonistic, there is definitively an element of 2006, giving it structure. There is a tannic bite, yet the tannins are very sweet.
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2/26/2023 - napasoutherner Likes this wine: 92 Points
This wind took many many hours to open up. It started out very tight, but after an hour, it started to show its range and by the second and third hour it really started to go nuts. Big bold fruit but still heavy earthiness and dirt on the pallets. Medium finish hi
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1/28/2023 - Rote Kappelle Likes this wine: 96 Points
Plabella has nailed the essence in a sentence whilst I labour to do the same in1,000 words. Sigh.
I thought the 2001 was better but this has just a little more vivacity (cork in better shape - cue rant about this shitty closure) and almost all the same flavour and intensity. The combination equals stiffy revolution.
The colour is deep garnet with a touch of brick. Combined with nose and palate we are looking at a wine that is entering its drinking window but with many years ahead.
Nose is glorious, intoxicating and makes you want to turn the amp to 15 million, delay as long as possible, maximum wah-wah, overdrive right up and all those who do not believe in Ornellaia must die by steel!
For the detail types amongst you, I got riotous blackcurrant (but not jam), tobacco and leaf, that Tuscan signature of dried herbs, some cedar and a woodsy, forest floor. It adds up to those who doubt, in their final hours, confessing before they die that they are (and always have been) true disciples of the Ornellaia.
The palate follows through from the nose and you have that dilemma; 'this is so great I want more, more, more!' as against, 'savour this moment of heaven in the hell in which we live'. I mostly seem to end up on the side that guzzles its way to Ragnarok.
You may be surprised to know that the tannins are fine and plentiful, dousing you in their splendour. Here is the thing - I found myself drinking the thing for the damned tannins, not the glorious fruit, because they were so ripe, powdery and tasty. Is that ok, or do I need to seek help, urgently before I do something really daft?
I guess the tannins will put some people off, but they are probably the kind of human lint who don't like the smell of horse and cow, who spend hot days inside with the aircon turned up and who fear strong experience. Sod them.
This is the kind of wine that makes me think of General d'Hautpoul, of noble birth he was a strong believer in the revolution and was active weeding out the filthy royalists in the 1790's. He led his cuirassiers from the front, smashing the reactionaries' centre at Austerlitz in a glorious charge that broke up the dreaded infantry squares.
During the brutal winter campaign of 1807, inflicted on France by the reactionary powers of the Coalition, d'Hautpoul was personally congratulated by Bonaparte and turned to his men saying "The Emperor has embraced me on behalf of all of you. And I am so pleased with you that I kiss all your arses."
As we all know, the next day the progressive forces of Europe and the reactionaries blundered into an encounter battle in the snow and sleet and blizzards of Poland, a land beset by vile weather and Catholicism - one deserves the other. Eylau was a grim, 2-day battle. At one point early on, Napoleon was beset by the enemy raging towards him and said to Murat, his cavalry commander 'Well, are you going to let these characters devour us?' Murat and his men launched a desperate charge and drove the swine back, sabering them.
On the second day, in a blizzard, the capable Augerau lost his bearings and when the blizzard cleared his forces were side on to the massed canon of the enemy. In moments over 5,000 men were mown down by grapeshot, chain and ball. The French centre was open and disaster loomed. The only force available was cavalry but cavalry need infantry to open the way. There were no infantry. This was the way the Light Brigade perished at Balaclava.
The French cavalry commanders understood their orders and the necessity. They would have to cross 2.5km's of open ground under shot, at a walk, before they could charge. Then the charge would be into formed infantry supported by gun lines and reserves. This was death.
As the French walked their forces forward under a hail of devastating fire, General Lepic of the Horse Grenadiers observed his men trying to bend down over their horses to minimise themselves as targets and bellowed 'Heads up, gentlemen. Those are bullets not turds!'
The Empire and its allies launched nearly 10,000 cavalry into the charge. Imagine the sound, even in snow. I think of the tannins in Ornellaia.
The big men, on big horses and even the rascally and diminutive hussars broke open the infantry squares, then charging on they reached the gunlines, slashing down the gunners, some spiking the guns or lashing the trails to drag the guns away. Like the weak drinker, the horse were now blown, unable to charge into the third line, the reactionary reserves.
d'Hautpoul summoned his cuirassiers for a last effort, almost unsupported, grotesquely outnumbered. They moved forward, barely able to trot. Somehow, they broke the reserve line. Cossacks sent in to attack them were driven back, their midgety mounts no match for the 16 hand horses of the cuirassiers. Don't mess with ripe tannins.
The Russian infantry of the broken lines showed much courage. they reformed square, cutting off many Imperial units, including d'Hautpoul and his men. He led a further charge, wounded three times. Smashing through the serried ranks he fell in the centre of a Russian infantry square, alive but terribly wounded.
When the reformed Imperial forces (there were Bavarians, Saxons, Wurtembergers, Poles and many more from all over Europe there) drove the reactionary forces back, d'Hautpoul was recovered, barely alive. The surgeons argued about treatment, deciding not to amputate a mangled leg. The General died of gangrene some days later.
Now, I look on my empty glass of Ornellaia (revolutionaries in their own way) and I feel inspired by a wine worthy of the hope for humanity, the love of dignity, the courage of d'Hautpoul, the Emperor Napoleon and all like them who have dared to dream and fight for a better world. When wine makes you feel this way, surely there can be no higher praise?
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1/21/2023 - La Grappe wrote: 95 Points
A very dark colour and an intense, profound wine with concentrated blackcurrant/blackberry fruit and some well covered tannin. Intense and long. Brilliant now, but will keep for years.
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12/4/2022 - Plabella Likes this wine:
This wine is a perfect expression of a super Tuscan wine. Well integrated tannins, long lingering taste beautiful fruit.
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9/29/2022 - Kevnzworld wrote: 93 Points
:45 decant Da Fiore Venice
A beautiful balanced albeit too young wine This will be a classic Ornellaia in 10 years
It’s not as ripe and is more austere and tannic than some other Ornellaia wines
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3/14/2022 - Dijosa wrote: 88 Points
Zu Coniglio al Sugo. Grossartige Marriage. Allerdings präsentierte sich der Wein trotz einer Stunde im Dekanter verschlossen und entwickelte seine Aromatik nur zurückhaltend - zeigte sich sehr verschlossen. Ungünstiges Trinkfenster?
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2/15/2022 - La Grappe wrote: 94 Points
A dark colour, and a full, rich, deeply expressive wine with concentrated blackcurrant and blackberry fruit, a little residual tannin and a long finish. Very fine now but may yet improve as the tannin is absorbed further.
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1/18/2022 - Sean Tay Likes this wine: 93 Points
Medium+ nose intensity with notes of black fruits, black currant, toast, smoke and spices. Medium+ acidity and medium tannin. Still youthful, probably only starting its drinking cycle.
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1/16/2022 - guido23 Likes this wine:
Delicious, drinking well, and lots of life left. A real blockbuster!
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12/15/2021 - BillyT wrote: 93 Points
At dinner with friends so no notes. However, as I look at previous notes in 2021 I agree with everyone regarding their impressions. I would only add that the initial nose was quite herbaceous but blew off after about 30 minutes. Also agree it is still quite young and needs more time.
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10/16/2021 - Benoit Hardy wrote: 94 Points
Nose on leather, spices and brandy cherries.
On the palate, the key word of this wine is concentration. It begins with the attack where the juice is very concentrated, powerful but balanced by an acidity that carries the wine and avoids the heaviness of 15 °. The texture of the wine remains silky so that it remains supple and digestible, on black fruit mixed with tobacco. The wine has a good depth and has a definite potential. Final with melted tannins, quite warm on the leather and the cherry.
Excellent, but in a transition phase, in a mid-world where the tertiary phase has not yet asserted itself in favor of deep and powerful fruit. I will wait 5 years for my next bottles
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10/11/2021 - Topper wrote:
Still very young. Not showing it’s best yet
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10/4/2021 - La Grappe wrote: 95 Points
A dark colour, and a very concentrated, profound wine, with rich blackcurrant and blackberry fruit and a touch of smoke and spice. Very attractive now, and ready to go, but should still improve and keep well for another 10 years or more. A very fine wine.
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8/9/2021 - culater Likes this wine: 94 Points
It overtakes me with flavours, tannins and dark power. I will wait 5 y before I try to find equal love. Big power and burnt. All over..
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6/28/2021 - BLam Likes this wine: 94 Points
Dark red concentrated color, beautiful nose with complexity of floral, fruits and minerals. The palate was wonderful too with velvet feel and long after taste. The only draw back was the age, too young to serve. It could be better in a decade. I guessed it as Sassicaia but turned out to be this wonderful wine!
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6/4/2021 - merlotsmile Likes this wine:
Vinminnen2
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5/23/2021 - Jurgens wrote: 95 Points
Wauw .
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4/18/2021 - Charlie C Likes this wine: 94 Points
Dark red with very slight fading at edges. Ripe plum nose. The palate is beautifully layered with plums, cherries, sweet tobacco. Fully resolved tannins, lovely acidity, great balance. Finishes moderately long with sweet red fruits and spice. In a beautiful place. Drink now and for the next 5 to 7 years to catch its peak.
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3/13/2021 - RickyT12 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted 2 hours
In a transition period. Dust leather boot coming out now. Mushroom, sour red cherry, wet forest nose. Seems to be transitioning from the powerful berry to more secondary characteristics. Still has some hints of its mint profile which is synonymous with Ornellia. I was hoping for a bit more. It is clearly in transition. I will wait another 5 years to open my last.
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3/5/2021 - Andice wrote: 95 Points
Super showing. Open and complex nose of brown sugar and fine leather goods. Rounded complex persistent and great length. Still a good deal of tannins to resolve but delicious today
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3/3/2021 - andip01 Likes this wine: 97 Points
Superb.
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2/6/2021 - Édifice Likes this wine: 98 Points
Wonderful wine with a very stylish bouquet of ripe blueberries, grilled peppers, liquor, undergrowth, vanilla. Incredibly silky, lush and balanced palate, dark, ripe berries, some red berries and mint, freshness, resolved and very sweet yet light tannins, with a very long finish. Fully on first night and even slightly better on the second night, fully in its drinking window with a long life ahead. Such a great treat.
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1/1/2021 - conviction buy Likes this wine: 92 Points
Bt breathed over 2 hrs, deep red, cassis, plum and hint of menthol spice. Sweet and concentrated on palate, glad there is yhe acidity and ever so slightly dusty tann8n that provided a stern backbone for this big wine. Aa though sipping a great St Estephe. Lomg and slightly oaky finish, plenty of life ahead.
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12/31/2020 - Docemann5 Likes this wine: 94 Points
At home quarantined NYE...
Opened and decanted for 1 hour
Full bouquet on the nose, high fruit, slight chalky or Brie cheese nose.
Mild tannins. Black fruit, dark raisin. Full mouth of taste. No burn, soft finish. Enjoyed first glass with homemade ceaser salad.
Second glass with home made chicken parm and garlic bread...powerful and compliments well. Stands great on its own too...worth my anticipation and my treat to myself for this special night.
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12/5/2020 - J_H Likes this wine: 95 Points
- around 2 hours open in the bottle
- Nose: A beautiful, medium intense nose with mature notes of truffle, leather and forest floor. Also dark fruit, sultana and blackberries. Very deep and quite fresh!
- Mouth: At the first few tastes it is clear that the Ornellaia 2006 is full-bodied and omnipresent, as it shoots into all corners of the mouth. Great back and forth between primary and tertiary aromas, you could spend hours with that glass. More and more I notice truffles or cheese, this has accompanied me with several Ornellaias. The tannins are still there (medium), ripe and give the wine a wonderful structure. In the last part, the wine stands out with a long, structured and balanced finish.
- I would have liked to spend a little more time with the Ornellaia 2006 to uncover the secret of its enormous complexity. But there were more great bottles on the programme.
- 95+P
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10/4/2020 - Dave Mac wrote: 91 Points
Jazz notes of blackberry with wave washes of plum and just some tadpoles of pepper and spices. A nose like Jim Carrey which finishes like a Canadian hockey team, this bad boy told us all we need to know
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9/23/2020 - AlanM68 Likes this wine: 95 Points
WaW! What a wine! Huge nose - all liquorice early on, but with more air, more refreshing and lighter fruit. Beautifully integrated, amazing length. In brilliant shape right now but easily another 10 years ahead.
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9/18/2020 - soyhead wrote:
blind italian tasting and 2 people independently brought this wine. interestingly one bottle more funky than the other on which comments are based, but overall the wine was quite consistent
nose - barnyard, turned earth, brett, strong funk. less so on bottle #2
mouth - dark fruit, stinky complex and long. i guessed something with cabfranc. excellent showing. drinking well at this stage in my opinion but no risk of fading anytime soon.
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9/4/2020 - gothamfreerider Likes this wine: 95 Points
Silky smooth tannins. Flavors of Dark fruits — cherries& blackberries. Notes of dark choclate and espresso on finish . Mountain flower spices intermixed. This is ready to drink, but likely great for another 20+ years. Stunning.
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5/23/2020 - Vini Ciclismo Likes this wine: 95 Points
Deep dark, cassis red.
Lightly cedary, black fruits, plums, hints of dark spice.
Superb smooth structure. Super fine tannins, fine acidity, long very evening palate. Silky, seamless, but at the same time it has huge impact, very intense flavours. Red and black fruits, sherbet zest, maraschino cherry, cola, licorice. Genuine power, feels a decade from maturity.
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3/11/2020 - jmprusko Likes this wine: 95 Points
Wines for the Apocalypse, pre-quarrantine
2006 Ornellaia vs Sassicaia
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2/16/2020 - rougeamore Likes this wine: 96 Points
This did not disappoint. Decanted for a few hours. This had all the fruits-black, blue and red, with a full body and texture and a long finish. So much complexity going on in this wine that I’m unable to adequately describe it. This has rendered me speechless but smiling.
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2/14/2020 - vino777 wrote:
Speechless
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2/9/2020 - Plabella Likes this wine: 98 Points
A Boudreaux blend that rivals any 1st growth from France. This wine is full body and well balanced and only gets better with time in your glass.
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2/3/2020 - jonleerhp Likes this wine: 98 Points
This wine just blew my mind. Decanted for an hour and this was just exquisite out of the gates. Rum Raisin, creme de cassis, cherry, plum, tobacco and leather were all present; This wine has lots of time left and I have another bottle but not sure I’ll wait long because it was so enjoyable
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2/1/2020 - Édifice Likes this wine: 98 Points
Stylish bouquet of sweet grilled peppers, stewed, ripe blueberries, vanilla, almond, high end liquor notes with a tiny bit of alcohol and heat. Ripe, lush, sweet, full, silky palate, with quite some acidity and freshness. All the elements are in harmony, the intensity of the fruit neatly integrating toasty and alcoholic notes, the freshness balancing the sweetness, the interplay and delineation of these components creating depth and width. Spices and a structured, tannic backbone on the finish, giving it pressure, some nice subtle bitterness, spiciness and freshness as well as sweetness which echo for quite long. A real pleasure bomb still early in the drinking window. It was great on the first night out of the bottle, a bit more impressive than elegant (typical 2006 Italian vintage), compared to the second night, where it was more balanced and harmonious while still very intense and fresh. Love it!
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1/29/2020 - Nik_Tarawisid wrote:
Mature
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1/4/2020 - Chapel Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted first 3+ hours then slowly sipped it with meats/cheeses/bread. A full bodied wine with complexity and pairing well. A bit on the alcoholic side of you sip alone and vastly aerate it in your mouth but not a reason to take away from this beauty
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12/12/2019 - shifter wrote:
Opens up after 30-60 minutes in the glass.
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11/25/2019 - AWBryce wrote:
Least expressive of the ornellaias tasted tonight, restrained, non descript red fruit profile, med acid and body, sour cherry finish, from 375, could be off bottle; previous example seemed much better.
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10/17/2019 - Lyubomir Lefterov Likes this wine: 94 Points
Tuscan wines - dinner/tasting with fellow enthusiasts. (Maceda Restaurant - Varna): Decanted for 3+ hrs, massive on the fruit, and the tannins, oak is integrated, but as a whole the wine needs more time, like min 5 y, before opening another bottle.
This is the wine that improved mostly during dinner.
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9/3/2019 - BillyNelson Likes this wine: 93 Points
A thoroughbred of a wine..... Not nearly ready but showing it's potential. We tried in an Italian vertical and while it was no one's wine of the night, everyone wanted to talk about it. Earmarked for much greater things. honestly, I reckon minimum 5 more years before we revisit.
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7/20/2019 - DonDon wrote: 94 Points
Lovely wine! You totally get the acidity profile on this. As a result it is really salivating. Definitely complex with layers of flavour. Dark fruit but brightened by the acidity. Doesn’t come across as heavy on the alcohol at all. A treat to have this but for me this isn’t a wine I would crave again for the price. Maybe we drunk it too fast as we took it to a restaurant so it didn’t get a long decant which I think it would benefit from.
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7/14/2019 - Ericsson wrote: 91 Points
Décidément ce n’est pas mon millésime préféré!
Ouvert 60 minutes avant consommation.
Couleur grenat très foncé, arômes proches d’un amarone, compotés, la bouche est fruitée, pulpeuse mais manque de complexité, il y a heureusement une petite touche d’acidité qui « tient » le vin, finale sur des tanins légèrement farineux.
Ma préférence va au 2011, 2012 ou même au 2002.
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6/28/2019 - dnnk88 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Bouquet of plums, violets, mint leaves, wet stones, creme, with a whiff of Woods cough syrup. Tasted black fruits, liquorice, mint leaves, espresso, tobacco, with herb and spice tertiaries. Warm and menthol finish. Enjoyed this bottle tonight but wasn’t special. This should get better with a few more years. Hold
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6/20/2019 - jmoon Likes this wine: 94 Points
robust and ripe huge nose , taste lush and exuberant. the oak still great now will be superb 5 yrs
18 months 70% new oak
Double decanted 7 hrs prior
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3/16/2019 - sdr wrote:
Tasted casually. Decent concentration and fruit, but simple and unremarkable. Galloni says it is a “massive, towering masterpiece.” Are we drinking the same wine?
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2/22/2019 - Jeffyboy Likes this wine: 93 Points
Tuscany 2006 (Winicjatywa): very dark with ruby rim. nose: sweet macerated fruits; sweet prunes; rich and pleasant. taste: aweet cherries, ripe sweet strawberries; large tannins volume - ripe; medium acidity; very long finish. excellent.
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2/9/2019 - Édifice Likes this wine: 98 Points
First time I had the 2006 was in a restaurant in Puglia, served out of a warm cellar, where the wine, popped and poured, immediately was fully on, lush, dark fruits, a real pleasure bomb although slightly too warm. This time in the mountains out of a cold cellar, the wine was more elegant, fine acidity yet still ripe, as it warmed up approaching more the hedonistic experience in Puglia. Such good material and wine making. Don’t see much upside but a longer plateau ahead, where the youthful freshness and intensity is gradually substituted by more sophistication and secondary/tertiary elements. What a great wine!
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1/13/2019 - Philippe_C wrote: 95 Points
Nose of balsamico, spice, mint, peperoni... Very nice acidity, sappy red berries, good lenght, silky tannins.
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12/1/2018 - jmoon wrote: 94 Points
Delicious... If decanted 2+ hours and served at 18 degrees C. Was quite hot when I let the temp creep up but cooled and was deep dark and delicious with excellent line and length. I don’t think she will improve hugely. Very enjoyable
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11/30/2018 - Zweder wrote: 95 Points
A good wine friend's 50th birthday. (@ PCr): Dark berries and Cabernet Sauvignon impressions in the bouquet. On the palate bell pepper, good berries and sweet spices. Beautiful and juicy wine.
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11/30/2018 - jkoenen wrote: 97 Points
Wow... so young... so much promise...
Terrific.
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11/23/2018 - Markus IWC wrote: 91 Points
Ornellaia tasting #4:
Separate vinification of 50-60 plots, blended after 12 months in barriques, bottled after a total of 18 months in barriques. Released after 12 months in bottle.
Still young and a little austere on the nose. Blue fruit, black currant, blyerts, cedar, herbs, coffee, violet, spices and some roasted notes.
Grippy tannins, a little warm and harsh. Improves significantly with time in glass.
BV=3
WV=4 (mine)
Very different opinions in the group.
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11/8/2018 - Shay.Aldriedge Likes this wine: 94 Points
Dark! This is Napa-esque. Extraction city with black and red fruit...cassis and clove on the nose. Fresh squeezed blackberries and charred grilled cherry. Tannic and in need of a few years to enter a prime drinking window.
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9/8/2018 - RickyT12 Likes this wine: 93 Points
PNP. Seems a bit tight. Maybe should have decanted.
Very powerful wine. It seems very young.
Probably needs another 5 years at least.
It has the standard Ornellaia mint raspberry flavor that is beautiful, but seems to be too powerful right now. The tannins are very strong as well. I like it, but I like the 04 more.
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6/29/2018 - NoTrollingerPlease Likes this wine: 94 Points
Drunk one bottle over two days. This is how I like Bordeaux :) Deep, garnet color almost inky. Beautiful, intense nose of a classic BDX: Black fruit, tobacco, oak, leather, herbs, some espresso and cacao. Complex and multi-layered.
Dry, high acidity balances the rather 15-16% abv quite well. Full bodied, firm and not yet fully integrated ripe tannin. On the palate blackberry, cherries, dark chocolate, smoke, espresso. Silky and mouthcoating without being fat or broad. Long, lingering finish with a touch of hotness. Still very young and with a great potential for the next decade. 94++
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4/7/2018 - czender1 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Outstanding Bordeaux like blend with a wonderful earthy bouquet, tremendous depth with soft tannins and good acidity. Wonderful balance
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2/13/2018 - andy C wrote:
Drank with the Ross team
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1/30/2018 - oldwines Likes this wine: 93 Points
Italian Wine Night in Philadelphia (Union League Club's Cellar 62): Another great wine at the Italian wine night...This was a bruiser and still quite young. It comes in at 15% ABV as marked on the label, but I suspect it is actually more like 16%. The color is a dense, dark, opaque garnet purple. The nose is very fragrant with vanilla, herbs, chocolate, black fruit and the expected whiff of alcohol. It is very big, dense and chewy on the palate with considerable but starting to integrate tannins. Flavors include blackberry, black plum, spice box and dried oregano with a noticeably alcoholic finish. This is a very modern-styled wine right up the alley of a certain wine writer who shall remain un-named. It is certainly powerful and masculine, but stylistically less to my liking as I prefer elegant, subtle, rounder wines. The alcohol for me is a bit of a negative showing a bit out of balance which is why my score may be a few points below those who prefer this style. I think it still needs 5-10 years to settle into something I would find more attractive, if the alcohol doesn't skew it more toward the out of balance end of the spectrum over time. I do have some of this in my cellar since this is my youngest daughter's birth year and I want something that can last well into her 20's which I hope this will.
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1/30/2018 - skurtz Likes this wine: 94 Points
Decanted for Italian Wine night in the cellar at Union League. A very precise spice box nose, some oak vanilla. Dense red cherries, oak, soft tannins. Firm and fully packed. I really loved this wine, but it was outshone by others on the table; I'd rank it 3rd or 4th favorite of the night.
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1/15/2018 - maaike2 wrote: flawed
cork, cork, cork
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12/31/2017 - EricLi wrote: 92 Points
Garnet and very youthful despite entering its second decade. Not entirely open, yet brooding with good stuff. Smooth and refined on the palate. Will be really nice in 2-3 years. Drinkable now, but should be better with plenty of decant (3 hour plus).
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12/26/2017 - Ericsson wrote: 91 Points
Base neck, non carafé mais ouvert 1 heure avant de servir. Couleur quasi violette, joli nez sur les cassis, le café, le cacao.
En bouche, le vin est massif, sensuel, flatteur mais les tanins tapissent le palais, légèrement farineux. Longueur moyenne.
Il me manque la finesse ici.
Petite déception peut-être due à la bouteille?
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9/20/2017 - Brett wrote: 91 Points
Nice bottle
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7/16/2017 - Life At Your Leisure 🍷 wrote: 98 Points
Dark garnet color turning crimson at the rim with a thin orange band before turning a reflective edge. Perfumed aromas jump out of the glass featuring black fruits, iodine, black tea, dark roasted coffee bean, and smoke. Round, ripe flavors of blackberry, black cherry, dark chocolate, espresso, graphite and scorched oak dominate this full-bodied, powerful wine with a silky lining. This is excellent and a bit modern in style - not quite as much as the 2007, but that's never a bad thing. Finishes persistently long, elegant and intense. This is nothing short of a blockbuster. Drink now until 2031.
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6/28/2017 - Philip Yang wrote: 93 Points
Still dark and young. Marked difference in the bouquet from the two Bordeaux tasted along side. We could be getting only 50-60pct of the nose that a Ornellaia can give at its peak. Lots of fruits and rich on the palate. A ted sweet. Tannins easily detected. Can be enjoyed now but I would wait another 3-5 years. 2004 Ornellaia is a better option now.
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6/17/2017 - Collector1855 wrote: 94 Points
During a CabSav Dinner. Dark ruby, Nose of dark ripe fruit, lots of oak, sweet spices. Rich palate, on the sweeter side. Good fruit but I wish for more tannins and acidity to balance it. Solid but just a tad too sweet for me to give 95 points.
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5/12/2017 - dron_ap wrote:
amazing quality bordeaux
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5/5/2017 - A2331 Likes this wine: 97 Points
Super nice wine. Dark berries, floral notes together with ceder and spices. No signs of age but really good at this stage. Keep or drink now.
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3/19/2017 - danielbleier Likes this wine: 95 Points
very interesting pairing at a dinner with fantastic wines. served with a deconstructed carrot salad, turned to work very well. Still has a bit of tannic grip, but the dark berry and mocha notes are dominate. Behind the primary flavors there is smoke and underbrush for a very balanced wine
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2/16/2017 - rpk99 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Well this is interesting finally had the guts to open one of my three bottles. Still youthful, but just a ridiculously balanced example of what wine should be. This could get better. Amazingly not there yet. Too early at ten years in.....
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1/27/2017 - walkerjfw wrote: 97 Points
Dinner with Gary and Danielle at Rat's, wanted to check in on this as it passes it's 10th bday. Drank this after an 03 Montrose. Decanted about 2 hours before drinking (re-bottled for the restaurant).
Dark core purple/garnet color, no signs of age. Nose jumps out of the glass - dark berries, minerals and floral notes. Palate showing blackberry, tart blueberry, cedar box, licorice, smoke and floral notes. Long and layered finish, tannins sweetened.
A real "wow" wine very early in its development. Decant is a must with the wine at this juncture. Should be a 30 year wine from here? Really incredible against some tough competition. WOTN for our group.
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1/15/2017 - RickyT12 wrote: 94 Points
PNP
Great vibrant nose. Tannins seem very strong still. Blueberry, raspberry, and cedar, eucalyptus, and black licorice on the nose. Nice structure and excellent silky mouth feel. Alcohol seems a little strong, but not overwhelming. Black licorice mixed with strawberry and raspberry, and eucalyptus on flavor. Nice fruit and a bit of wood or mushroom comes out on the nose. Great wine.
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1/13/2017 - ShadowIII Likes this wine: 96 Points
Exceptional wine, dark purple, forward red fruits, currants, spice, superb structure, great mouth feel and long finish
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12/31/2016 - peter.mancell@mfg.com.au Likes this wine: 95 Points
Superb super Tuscan.
Fabulous nose that emerges from the glass to entice.
Fantastic fruit, lovely mouthfeel, very very long finish.
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12/26/2016 - BuzzzzOff Likes this wine: 98 Points
One year since we last sipped this dynamite Super Tuscan! Our Italian friend from Naples proposed marriage to us as he sipped...much to the chagrin of his luvly wife. We did not accept, of course. However, we appreciated and understood the sentiment. Rock star wine!
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12/26/2016 - andy C wrote:
drank at Christmas party. I love this wine.,
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12/4/2016 - Al-Vino Likes this wine:
56% Cab Sauv, 27% Merlot, 12% Cab Franc, 5% Petit Verdot. Surprisingly, the drinking window on this bottle appears much different than the last bottle. Quicker maturation likelky due to the cork that wicked almost entirely to the top. Unusual, so no rating...although was still very good.
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11/19/2016 - Paco55 wrote: 95 Points
Beautiful balanced fruit and oak. Exceptional juice here with another 10 years in front of it at least.
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10/28/2016 - Solidgold Likes this wine: 94 Points
Wow. Lovely wine with floral and super long finish. Complex but well balance. Wish I had more.
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9/15/2016 - Burgnick wrote: 90 Points
2006 Ornellaia is very modern with oak, cedarwood, ink and big dark fruit. Its a parker style wine which I dont enjoy very much. It lacks the finesse and smoothness of the older Ornellaia that I really like.
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8/6/2016 - jcasey555 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Deep dark full body. Will wait before next bottle but great structure and balance
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6/2/2016 - dream Likes this wine: 92 Points
Bold and ripe cabernet-based wine. Serious and delicious purply fruit with excellent intensity and grip. Finishes tannic with notes of minerals ans Asian spices. One of the best Ornellaia's I've tried and I like drinking it now with a long decant but it clearly needs a bit more time for the tannins to resolve. 92+
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5/15/2016 - Pacherant wrote: 89 Points
Dense, oaky with vanilla, cherry and dark fruit. Compact and a bit new world right now, but hopefully will settle into something much more lovely
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4/29/2016 - Zweder wrote: 95 Points
Tuscany 2006 Ten years after. (@ SvdV): In the bouquet ripe dark cherries, dark berries, very luxurious oak and cedar, sweet spices and a soft toast. On the palate ripe dark berries and cherries as well, leather, herbs, a touch of sweetness, good acidity and round tannin with still a firm bite. Great length! This is a great beauty in its very early maturity stage. We were unanimous that the Sassicaia was a bit better tonight, and it would be great to blind taste the two beside each other again 5 years from now ;-). There is a good future in the Ornellaia!
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4/20/2016 - GGP Likes this wine: 96 Points
56% Cabernet, 27% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot. 18 meses em barricas novas de carvalho francês (12m após, faz-se o corte e torna ao estágio por mais 8m já em blend) e mais 1 ano em garrafa. Vermelho-rubi escuro, algo opaco e muita seriedade em um nariz ao mesmo tempo cativante e fresco com frutas vermelhas e negras maduras, carvalho, defumados, couro e ponta de lápis. Amplo, exuberante, poderoso e voraz, sua boa acidez confere tensão por toda a prova, taninos gulosos e doces tomam o palato, muita profundidade, cauda espessa e complexa com belo rebote mineral. Um mito. Mais aristocrático que o 2008.
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2/27/2016 - Wine_lvr Likes this wine: 95 Points
Dark red. Nose shows vanilla, dark berries and chocolate. Very smooth tannins, long and multilayered. Still young.
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2/15/2016 - AWBryce wrote: 94 Points
Beautiful wine. Powerful.Tobacco, dark fruits, mint, herbs. Firm tannin, good acidity, pure dark fruits on the palate and a long finish. This will be fantastic with another decade in bottle.
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1/30/2016 - sdr Likes this wine: 92 Points
From memory this 2006 version of Orneillaia seems slightly inkier and beefier than the composed outstanding 2004 vintage. But in time the '06 may develop some of the complexity and nuance the older vintage now has. Nevertheless, this 2006 is very enjoyable and very drinkable now, with the Cabernet Sauvignon clearly dominating. Ripe tannins and adequate acidity frame the fruit nicely. A winner.
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12/28/2015 - Yiannis Likes this wine: 95 Points
The youngest of them all, even younger than the 2011. Dark chocolate, plum, sweet spices. Full-bodied, firm tannins. Needs time to resolve but good balance overall. Very long aftertaste. Very promising but an infant at this stage.
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12/12/2015 - King JR wrote: 94 Points
See all my prior notes. Amazing. Needs a good 2-3 hour decant. Still too young... Will continue to wait and try.
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10/21/2015 - BuzzzzOff Likes this wine: 98 Points
We were enjoying a Les Freres Marchand 20 Cheese Dinner at home with friends when we sipped this wine. This would have been the WOTN, but when she meets all your expectations and is this good, well, you have to let another gal step up to the podium (the 2009 Cigluti Barbaresco Serraboella)
Having said that, we think our comment in April remains the same...a winner and singing beautifully now:
"The Estate's flagship wine dating back to 1985, this "Super Tuscan" is a blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot. After Sassicaia, this is our favourite "Italian Bordeaux". A dark ruby red with a complex, titillating and rich nose. A powerful, voracious, slightly sweet, nice tannins and great balance greets your palate ending with a long, elegant finish. Wow!!! The wines rested for 18 months in barrels (12 before blending, 6 blended) and another 12 months in the bottle before the release. These folks work hard and deserve a big Hallelujah, Praise the good people of Ornellaia!!!"
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9/5/2015 - Miceri Likes this wine: 94 Points
Dark red; lovely open nose, lots of red berries; very nice, good structure, lots of refined power, some pepper
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8/29/2015 - Vini Ciclismo wrote: flawed
Corked. What a waste!
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8/19/2015 - BuzzzzOff Likes this wine: 98 Points
Wow, wow, wow!!! We just finished our last sip of the dynamite wine - we "opened" via Coravin in June - in mid-August. Good on ya, Coravin. This is awesome still :-)
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8/13/2015 - patwjr Likes this wine: 95 Points
Pop'd & pour'd & drank over 2 hours. Really nice, rich fruit. Drank delicious from start to finish.
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8/7/2015 - Doni.Bertolami wrote: 95 Points
Very powerful with aromas of dark berries, cassis, tobacco, vanilla and spices. Quite some grip om the palate. This will need 2-3 more years to reach the drinking window.
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7/24/2015 - markellen.foodies@gmail.com wrote: 95 Points
Decanted for 1-1/2 hrs before traveling to Crimson Sparrow, Hudson, NY. Served last, intense black fruits, lead pencil, crushed violets. Extended aftertaste.
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7/5/2015 - Uncle John wrote: 95 Points
Decanted for an hour then let stand for another 3 before consuming this with a large group on July 4th at Le Bleu Raisin in Montreal. Rich dark fruit and spices on the nose. The Palate was so polished and smooth with moderate acidity and a long finish. No doubt this was a young wine in the early part of its drinking window. Will wait another few years before trying the next bottle.
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6/19/2015 - BuzzzzOff Likes this wine: 98 Points
Another super sip via Coravin. Vanilla on the nose. Smooth and soft tannins on the palate. Great fruit. Music on our palate. Near perfect balance...we would have preferred a bit more grip, but happy nonetheless.
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6/11/2015 - BuzzzzOff Likes this wine: 98 Points
Same comment as 4/18/2015 tasting note EXCEPT luckily we had a small sip via Coravin. Oh our ears and whiskers...just like we opened the bottle, but we will enjoy over the next few weeks or so! Blessed be...
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5/26/2015 - Al-Vino Likes this wine: 95 Points
Outstanding, well made wine with unparalleled suppleness and elegance. Lives up to its billing as one of the premier Super Tuscans. Entering the beginning of it's drinking window. Worth every penny.
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5/25/2015 - rougeamore Likes this wine: 96 Points
Hosted a wine party where we tasted many great wines blind including wines such as Gaja and Heitz but this wine stood well above the rest. Inky dark color with a bouquet of dark fruit. The first taste has an inexplicable expression of freshness, dark fruit, ending with some spice. Full bodied, perfect balance of acidity, chewy refined tannins. Long long finish. If you don't know what an elegant exceptional wine tastes like, try this one. Already drinking great now.
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4/18/2015 - BuzzzzOff Likes this wine: 98 Points
The Estate's flagship wine dating back to 1985, this "Super Tuscan" is a blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot. After Sassicaia, this is our favourite "Italian Bordeaux". A dark ruby red with a complex, titillating and rich nose. A powerful, voracious, slightly sweet, nice tannins and great balance greets your palate ending with a long, elegant finish. Wow!!! The wines rested for 18 months in barrels (12 before blending, 6 blended) and another 12 months in the bottle before the release. These folks work hard and deserve a big Hallelujah, Praise the good people of Ornellaia!!!
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2/18/2015 - FamilyLarsson wrote: 93 Points
Detta vin borde jag ha satt blint med tanke på hur många gånger tidigare jag har druckit det. Så småningom hamnade vi i alla fall i Bolgheri.
En doft med körsbär, björnbär, piptobak, ceder, örter, choklad och en underbar rosendoft. I smaken ett väldigt koncentrerat, fruktigt och koncentrerat vin. Kanske inte så elegant som jag kom ihåg, men ack så gott. Bra balans och otrolig eftersmak som bara fortsätter.
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1/18/2015 - Traxx wrote:
Sadly slightly corked. Wine underneath was incredibly tannic, leave this one alone for several more years.
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12/7/2014 - typh wrote: 88 Points
I last had this wine a few years ago and remember thinking it needs some time. Whilst it is still relatively young, I found it more tannic than most Ornellaia and hard to see the underlying fruit or structure that will redeem it over time. I have always enjoyed Ornellaia and visiting the vineyard only strengthened my support for their wines. Maybe I just got a dodgy batch but this is the third bottle that has been sub-par.
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11/13/2014 - SineQuaNon Likes this wine: 96 Points
The greatest vintage of Ornellaia in recent years. Slightly above 2004, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011, which are also great imho.
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11/11/2014 - mwanasheria Likes this wine: 94 Points
A massive bottle of Ornellaia with lots of herbs, sweet tannins, oak, vanilla. Really good.
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10/19/2014 - mwanasheria Likes this wine: 94 Points
Full bodied with cassis, smoke, cedar, earth, underwood, pencil shavings. Silky and long. Really good.
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10/19/2014 - markellen.foodies@gmail.com Likes this wine: 94 Points
Decanted for 1-1/2 hrs. Tight nose, but exceedingly long finish. Dark red fruits. Will save my last bottle for 3-5 years. Longer if I were younger!
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10/17/2014 - La Cave d'Argent Likes this wine: 96 Points
2014 New York Wine Experience Trip; 10/14/2014-10/21/2014 (New York City, NY): A blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot, this deep ruby wine flaunts black fruit aromatics, supported by licorice, smoke, tar and loamy earth. Full-bodied, freshly acidic and seamlessly alcoholic on the palate, it supports black fruit, fig and spice flavors with heavyweight, firm tannins. There is good persistence in the middle and the finish is long, albeit quite tannic. Still needing more time, there is no doubt that this masculine wine is a diamond in the rough. Drink 2019-2035.
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10/7/2014 - mwanasheria wrote: 95 Points
A spectacular Ornellaia with loads of dark fruit, spices, silky tannins, forest floor, smoke.
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7/26/2014 - Jurgens wrote: 90 Points
Nice. Little disappointed.
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7/25/2014 - FamilyLarsson wrote: 95 Points
Ett riktigt bra Toscana vin!!!
Otrolig doft med björnbär, italienska söta örter, piptobak, choklad och en underbar rosendoft.
I smaken ett väldigt koncentrerat, fruktigt och bjussigt vin. Kanske inte så elegant som jag kom ihåg, men ack så gott. Bra balans och otrolig eftersmak som bara fortsätter.
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7/6/2014 - King JR wrote: 95 Points
Fantastic! Very smooth and enjoyable now, but still very young. Another 2- years I would think.
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6/29/2014 - AlanM68 wrote: 96 Points
Intense. Dark fruits, graphite and tar. A stunning wine with years ahead of it but I was itching to try it. Weighty, chewy and fully engaging now, even with very little time in the decanter (first glass was via coravin but couldn't resist finishing the bottle.
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5/19/2014 - CManthei wrote: 93 Points
Big and bold, tannic and expressive. The concentration and thickness are massive, coating the palate with each sip. The palate combines dark fruits with leather, spice, vanilla and kirsch in a rather tight package, which needs more time to open. You can tell that the tannins are starting to mellow, but in a few years, this wine will be smooth and delicious. It's heading in the right direction.
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5/13/2014 - btbad wrote: 97 Points
Like? No. Love this wine. Broke open a bottle with some close family and it was the talk of the evening. Good notes of berries across the palate and a nice smooth finish after some decanting. Though the tasting window is still a few years off by some standards, this one seems like it's hitting its stride. A knockout and should be shared with your closest friends or if you need to really impress.
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4/5/2014 - SonnyChiba wrote: 96 Points
96+ pts. Wow. This wine is stunningly good. Blackberry ,currant, blueberry jam, and some Asian spice. So harmonious and elegant, with perfect balance and tremendous structure. Pure silk on the mouth and delicious rich layered finish. Seamless. More to come but very tasty at the moment. This is a special wine for sure.
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4/4/2014 - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Likes this wine: 98 Points
Popped and poured. Inky blackish purple in color with tinged of red at the edges. Black currant on the nose. Smooth mouthfeel. Sweet, jammed blackberries all day long. Spicy aftertaste, but not at all like the green pepper taste of the 2007 Masseto I had. Got much better after one hour, and it left me wishing for more. Wonderfully balanced wine!
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3/8/2014 - Javatrader wrote: 94 Points
Nose- Cocoa, Coffee, mint, smoked meats, road tar, black pepper, tobacco
Deep purple and red hues, outstanding to look at
Brandy, purple plums, rich and silky
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2/19/2014 - CamWheeler wrote: 92 Points
Offline at new Bentley CBD: Mint, truffle, camphor, raspberry, kirsch and raspberry aromas - building layer upon layer each time you go back to it. Powerful, driven palate with acidity keeping it bright. Really needs another 10 years as it is all power and only slight nuance on the palate at the moment.
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1/25/2014 - Matt Scott Likes this wine: 97 Points
Decanted for two hours, and finished the next night. Almost black, with a garnet hue, then a thin ruby rim. Copious amounts of blackberry, tobacco pipe, rose petal, milk chocolate, sweet basil, rosemary, button mushroom and scorched earth. Full and velvety, then burlesque and engaging on the profoundly long finish. Undoubtedly one of the best Ornellaias ever - and if anything, this has actually improved with age. With lengthy a decant, this Tuscan Juno is completely ready to consume. Not meek, yet still regal. Drink 2015 - 2035.
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1/9/2014 - ledwards wrote: 90 Points
Right now the wine is in a bit of an awkward state. The tannins are coming across hard and dominant. The depth is there and the promise is exciting but it appears to need 5 more years to soften and allow the layers of fruit to come shine. With a very long decant you can taste the underlying material which is delightful.
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12/27/2013 - Euge67 Likes this wine: 89 Points
Credo che questa che mi sto accingendo a fare, sia la recensione più difficile che mi sia mai capitata.
Ore 18:00 apro questo campione nel mondo di eccellenza italiana.
Le aspettative sono superate. Appena aperto naso e palato incredibili.
Naso di grafite, mirtillo, vaniglia e liquirizia.
Palato altrettanto meraviglioso: cioccolato, una punta di tabacco, liquirizia, vaniglia. e tanta altra roba che la mia imperizia non riesce a decifrare. Che meraviglia. Penso: se è così appena aperto chissà tra qualche ora.
Ore 20:30 tutto si è spento. Monocorde, ed io e mia moglie facciamo fatica a finirlo.
Questo vino è come un dragster, un centometrista; da tutto subito ma alla prima curva si spegne. La stoffa c'è ma è limitata al solo primo impatto. Ti fa sognare ma non mantiene quello che ti promette. E' un vino piacione, costruito per stupire subito e per vincere nelle degustazioni in serie che non permettono approfondimenti per mancanza di tempo. Un vino senza identità e senza carattere. Ha tutto e niente.
Questo vino, si muove al contrario dei grandi bordeaux in cui mi sono fortunatamente imbattuto (chateau Margaux 98 e Gruaud larose 2000) dove appena aperti non sanno di niente e diventano meravigliosi solo dopo una buona ossigenazione.
Conclusione:
Mi è piaciuto? Si. Lo ricomprerei? NO! (sigh ho una bottglia del 2009).
Non penso che lasciarlo lì possa migliorare le cose. Spero di sbagliarmi.
94 appena aperto, 90 dopo 2 ore. Considerato però il prezzo elevato non posso che dare un 89 punti.
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11/16/2013 - King JR wrote: 94 Points
Fabulous bottle - popped and poured form a 375! So big and powerful, yet smooth and incredibly flavorful. Lots of big red fruit, and a huge nose. The 06 seems as if it might just be hitting its stride now. Can't wait to enjoy what I have left over the next few years. Rating tonight is a bit more critical, as this was consumed alongside the legendary '96 Chateau Margaux. We started with the Margaux and then progressed to the Ornellaia. The Ornellaia was like a young bucking bronco compared to the Clydesdale Margaux. (with TF Nov 14).
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11/7/2013 - cabber Likes this wine: 97 Points
KB's Birthday Wine Tasting (Manhattan Beach, CA): Decanted 4 hours. Magically delicious.
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8/24/2013 - mike l. Likes this wine: 91 Points
seems tight and closed on the nose. needs 10 years. very nice structure.
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8/3/2013 - King JR wrote: 96 Points
Wow! Popped and poured from a 375m. Amazing nose, incredible fruit and some vanilla undetones. An absolute beauty! So powerful and yet so smooth. Probably still too early, but it's so hard to resist.
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7/13/2013 - RayOB Likes this wine: 97 Points
Drank at Home
Amazing complexity with a profound palate. It is on the cross roads between new and old world. One of the best Ornellaia out there and its getting better.
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6/30/2013 - bugdoced Likes this wine: 94 Points
just terrific and fun to compare to masseto
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6/15/2013 - pavel_p Likes this wine: 94 Points
My first Ornellaia. 90 min decant. A nose with dark fruit and anise, then on the palate blueberry pie, coffee, spices, some chocolate, a touch of oak. Big, full bodied and highly concentrated but well balanced (15% alcohol!) with fine but very dense tannins, beautiful long finish. 93-94
This is a delicious wine, my main problem is that it does not work with food. Was looking for a wine that could match two different pastas at home (bolognese and pesto), and the rest of the bottle would work with a steak on day 2. Decided to try this over a 04 Tignanello and a few Brunellos, but that was a bad choice. The wine works as dessert on its own, but it's too sweet and too rich and the acidity is too low to match salty and fat food. Secondly, would have guessed high quality Aussie Shiraz blind - if you are looking for a "typical" SuperTuscan, this is not it.
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5/12/2013 - King JR wrote: 96 Points
Outstanding bottle! Super fruit forward nose. Love the cabernet strength and silky smooth tannins. I think this would be good for many more years. This was a 375m.
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4/2/2013 - jbouchy Likes this wine: 94 Points
Double-decanted three hours prior to pouring. Beautifully integrated, nicely balanced, concentrated with wonderful complexity in the mid palate. Drank nicely, however will only benefit with more time in the cellar. Don't plan to pull another one for a few years, but very glad that I sampled one bottle now.
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9/30/2012 - alain@driesassur.com wrote:
enjoyed in Fiji for my birthday. Top !
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6/15/2012 - gutt22 wrote:
From half bottle. Dark red color. Gorgeous nose of cool black fruit, tobacco, earth, and violets. In the mouth, the balance is sublime, with great concentration and achingly good purity to the fruit and more complex notes. Cassis, tobacco, earth, herbs, and a floral note. This just glides across the palate with effortless power. A phenomenally pleasing wine that shows no seams even as it flexes its acidity and tannins. A
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6/12/2012 - Button Yang Likes this wine: 95 Points
Seductive, showed its Bordelais aspect and Italian aspect. A Franco-Italy mix?I really like its truffle and plummy, floral nose. The touch is souple, pure and deep. It's quite good to enjoy now.
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5/26/2012 - Hank Gillespie wrote:
Tenuta dell' Ornellaia (The Wine Summit at the Post Hotel in Lake Louise): 56% CS, 27% M, 12% CF, 5% PV.
Dark black purple - full to the rim; aromas mellow bark berry fruit - no herbaceous character; pleasing entry - sweet black currants, some spice; exceptional concentration - intense and persistent; extends out to a long finish - harmony. Very very good!
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5/24/2012 - BillyT wrote: 93 Points
Stupendous. Dinner with friends. Would buy more if I could find it.
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5/24/2012 - Hanover33 wrote: 86 Points
Drank randomly after a bottle of aglianico with turkey burgers and then raspberry m&ms. Aglianico was agressive and young, and the ornellaia sophisticaed and smooth. Overtones of anise and raspberry (or is that the m&ms?), fairly perfect now dont think aging will improve it but hey we drank this beauty with turkey burgers what do we know?
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5/24/2012 - RayOB Likes this wine: 98 Points
Drank at Davies
What incredible stuff. It reminds me of the Bordeaux '09s. Still very young but an amazing depth and balance with silky smooth tannins. The fruit hits you from the start.
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5/23/2012 - Chrisw97 wrote: 95 Points
A great wine and tasted alongside the Sassicaia 2006. The Ornellaia came across as slightly closed at this stage and aromatically not as developed and expressive as the Sassicaia. Drinking ok now but tannins still need to soften.
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5/12/2012 - KingClint wrote: 95 Points
Best wine I have ever drank. Not saying much but it's really good. Layers and layers.
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3/30/2012 - Jona wrote: 93 Points
Two properties that for me fits a quality wine: dense mouth feel, and fine sandy tannines. It has that, and do also feel kind of soft. A gigantic wine but surely a baby, and not really delicious today. Good potential. 93+
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2/3/2012 - cyak Likes this wine: 92 Points
Strong, moderate long red body with subtle berry tastes on earthy background
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1/20/2012 - Porchino wrote: 94 Points
Fantastic had in London at harrods while at first it clmored for steak it softened and worked well with riissoto
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12/5/2011 - drj27 wrote: 93 Points
Excellent, great depth and length, oak and plum i agree below.
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11/26/2011 - Mango wrote: 95 Points
Decanted for 4 h. Open nose with oak, spice and plum. The palate is beatiful. Big fruit with a lot of back up of acid, oak and tannin. Harmonius and is perfect now but will probably be even better.
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11/20/2011 - Stefanos T. wrote: 93 Points
Decanter Sassicaia & Ornellaia Masterclass (Landmark Hotel London): Dark ruby with a narrow garnet rim. Expressive and developing nose. Macerated plummy and black berry fruit, old sweet spice, oaky notes, coffee, some refined leather and hints of ink. Slight jammy and raisiny notes reveal a warm dry year. Palate has the usual smooth texture, it is refined, elegant and ripe. Sweet spice and macerated dark berry fruit, notes of cedar in this medium to full bodied wine. Tannins are firm but silky and acidity supports the fruit. Juicy and soft wine, despite the tannins, which is ready to drink but can keep on developing for ten years at least. Seems more complex than the 2009 and this is natural since it has the benefit of being older, yet it seems a slightly more profound wine.
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11/19/2011 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
Big, just opened. We shall see.
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10/31/2011 - NomadicEntrepreneur wrote: 93 Points
A lot of depth, especially when compared to bigger California wines. Very good.
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10/27/2011 - Hazeo wrote:
Tight, tannic and not at all expressive. A lot of material to be sure, but so not ready.
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10/25/2011 - Jochems wrote: 93 Points
I had this wine at the die Frescobaldi restaurant at Harrods in London. The first glass was just outright bad: oxidized, acidic and it even seemed to be corked. I sent it back. Amazing that they served such a bad glass in a restaurant owned by the producer themselves.... It appeared that the bottle was open for 3 days! In addition to that I had a very bad experience with the main course, but this is a wine TN, not a restaurant review. Good thing is that the second glass was a superb glass of wine, and the Serre Nuove '08 I had during the same lunch also was a real treat.
The second bottle was popped and poured. I feared that it would be closed and muted, the opposite was true:
The wine had a deep ruby/red color, almost black at the core. The aromas where full and enticing with loads of blackberry, blueberry some sweet tobacco and hints of eucalyptus and smoke. Full bodied not the palate with loads of fresh fruit, mouth coating and smooth tannins and balanced acidity. The finish was long and fresh. As expressive as it was on the nose, the palate and finish still seemed somewhat holding back, though the mouthfeel was superb. I think this wine has quite some life (and upside) ahead, perhaps even deserving one or two notches up. But its delicious right now. Drink now - 2018.
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7/25/2011 - Jack O'Brien wrote: 91 Points
A good bottle but not worth the money - maybe at $40 but you are paying for the label, not the product. This was very juicy and more acidic than other vintages, especially the current vintage. Ornellaia tastes more like a CA wine but this vintage is distinctly Italian
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3/15/2011 - Puteljen! Likes this wine: 93 Points
@Rifugio Guglielmina
Initially closed with oak, alcohol an pepper on bot nose and palate. Gradually opens up and reveals young fruit with cerry and plum. Warm, big bodied, with noticable tannin and medium+ acidity. The alcohol is a bit too noticable at times. Exceptionally long, beautiful finish. Gets better with time in the glass. It's just too young and will improve with further cellaring.
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1/13/2011 - Wine_lvr Likes this wine: 93 Points
Big but too young
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6/2/2010 - Vinomarcus wrote: 91 Points
Wednesday Night Blind - June 2010 (Peter Pratt's Inn): tasted blind - I decanted this wine for my friend (who bought it) for over 7hrs. It was still tight and unyielding. I really like what it offered, but think that so much more is in store for those who open this wine in 5+yrs time. This is screaming to be laid down for a good long nap. The color is dark, nearly black. Very meaty, brambly spice. It really woke up when tasted with the Lamb Bolognese.
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5/30/2010 - jarjarbinx99 wrote: 95 Points
Nez époustoufflant !!! Bouche généreuse, complexe, fruitée. Près à boire dès maintenant
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5/15/2010 - beezer6 wrote: 93 Points
Saturday Tasting Group (Knightsbridge Wine Shop (Northbrook, IL)): Alot of hype surrounding this vintage of Ornellaia. Really nice complete wine. A little rusty raspberries coupled with intriguing tarry play.
Spicy pretty cotton and fresh linen doused with yellow curry powder. Lovely acidity and well integrated tannins. This is really young but shows serious promise to age well.
Medium bodied - a sexy finesse driven feminine bottling. Shows great mid-palate. Again, just an overall well made wine. Absolutely classic Italian qualities and structure.
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5/15/2010 - psmith wrote:
Really nice Ornellaia that needs time, but has been hard to let rest as it's very nice now. Really ripe, dark, opulent fruits. Full bodied. Rich blackberry liqueur notes. Firm tannins. Very nice.
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3/24/2010 - jorge48 wrote: 93 Points
Had this with steak at Capital Grille in Stamford, CT. Beautiful nose and rich palate. Unfortunately, no decant or would have surely been even better.
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3/8/2010 - monkeylug wrote: 96 Points
Rich deep smells. High high tannins. Extremely young. Very nice fruit, needs 10 years. Super-long finish.
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3/6/2010 - psmith wrote:
Decanted the better part of a day. Super rich, purple, dark fruits. Big wine. Dense and round. Full bodied, with lots of stuffing. Really nice Ornellaia.
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2/5/2010 - torciaumana wrote: 92 Points
Dark and Deep ruby red. Blackberry an blueberry, sweet spices, chocolate. Full bodied, extraordinary fine and smooth. Very long finish of black fruit and licuorice
Rosso rubino cupo, impenetrabile. Frutti neri: ribes mirtollo bellissima speziatura. Cioccolato. In bocca e pieno morbido, tannini finissimi. Fino davvero fine. Finale di frutta nera e liqurizia
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1/30/2010 - sfqwino wrote: 94 Points
OMG, this is gorgeous! Painfully young and tightly coiled. Pure and clean, and that depth of flavour. Dark berries, chocolate, coffee, tar and that haunting oak nuance. Very attractive. A little tiring on the palate to drink now. But I can imagine the immense pleasure it stand to offer several years down the road. A bottle to keep. 94+
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1/29/2010 - astroman wrote:
2006 Italy Tasting: Earthy and cigar with well balanced palate. Finish goes on and on. Alcohol of 15% does not really show. Very well made
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11/29/2009 - the godfather wrote: 96 Points
This is what I want in a bourdeaux blend, massive structure with enough luscious fruit to enjoy now, as with all Italian wines, rocked with food, should be a legend in the making
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11/28/2009 - noppakit s. wrote: 93 Points
I can not finished the bottle. nothing's interesting.
Oak, fruit, big, tight, good finish in the mouth then becomes deep impact. Even 4-5 hours passed by, I didn't feel any changes. It is like an Australia or California wine.
Wasted my time and my emotional feeling in the still of the night.
One good thing : Now I know that I should stop buying this wine. IMO, too expensive and boring. The 2004 is much better in nosing, texture, absolutely classic in style.
My friend in Zurich said Ornellaia is not the long-live wine and I think it's true.
ps. If I taste only 1 glass, I would rate it 95+/100...a wine to taste but not to test...to enjoy !!!
...next day...in the morning...I taste it again...so sad, that's too bad...nothing changes...all it needs is a miracle.
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11/28/2009 - JOsgood wrote: 96 Points
Amazing wine. Huge nose. Tons of fruit. Very penetrating on the palate. Wonderful compliment to my lamb dish. Super long finish. Would love to taste again in a decade. A stunner.
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10/24/2009 - JamesSanders wrote: 88 Points
Ripe, concentrated modern wine that could be from anywhere. Nothing offensive about it, and OK if you like plush, soft and fairly simple--i.e., just ripe fruit-- flavors. Do these develop more character as they age? Because right now this just isn't very interesting. Price is totally irrational.
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10/22/2009 - ews3 wrote: 94 Points
2009 Wine Spectator NYWE Grand Tasting (Marriott Marquis, Times Square, NYC): phenomenal wine. sweet black fruit, plum. long finish, with a little heat developing about 20-30 seconds in.
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10/12/2009 - igaf wrote:
Very dark, almost opaque. Bold, velvety on the nose with clean dark cherry fruit, plums and blackberries, bitter chocolate and some coal, a bit New World-ish, but not just a stereotypical dark fruit-bomb as it still had a nicely balancing, fresh note to it. Fullbodied, lush, very spicy, exuberantly fruity, young, with plums, pepper and cacao powder on the palate, very tannic, somewhat mineral after it calms down a bit. Dry tannic aftertaste with dark, generously spiced berries. Somewhat better next day, chocolaty and not so hot.
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10/1/2009 - Wrighty wrote: 94 Points
Popped and poured so was a little worried - needn't have been. No notes taken but this had structure and a backbone covered with a lush plumpness allowing great drinking straight from the bottle. Not sure air will help much as this was good to go.
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9/28/2009 - Yiannis wrote: 95 Points
Very primary but showing what is to be expected from this future masterpiece. Very dark, inky, almost black. Very elegant nose, despite 15% alcohol. Shy now but displaying aromas of blackberry, graphite, moca and tar. Full-bodied, perfectly structured and balanced with a long, long finish. Built to last. According to my experience with previous Ornellaia vintages, this will be more expressive than now after a year or so, and will reach its full potential from 2014.
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9/1/2009 - Double-A Likes this wine: 93 Points
Full, dark ruby colour. Currant, mineral and cocoa nose. Big and warming with great purity of fruit; long, rich, spicy finish.
4.5/5
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7/11/2009 - psmith wrote:
Full, modern, flashy ripe wine. Sweet dark Cabernet Fruits. Big wine. Well structured. Not the slightly off-putting candied aspect I found in the last bottle. Very enjoyable.
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6/13/2009 - psmith wrote:
Monster of a wine. Dark and inky, and a nose like a modern cult cab with dark fruits and graphite notes. Softer, very ripe and opulent palate - some significant vanilla oak influence. Big fine-grain structure. Seems a departure from past vintages of this, in that it's a very plumped, "big" wine. Needs time, but impressive elements.
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6/13/2009 - KenK wrote: 96 Points
Knightsbridge Weekly Group: Wow! Aromas of dark sweet spicy black fruits showing great density and mineral lift. Ripe dark sweet black fruits in big boy style. Dense and ripe with dark chocolate and plenty of supporting acid and fine sweet tannins already integrated well. Served blind most guessed high level Bordeaux blend from new world and seemed like a real crowd pleaser for bunch of wine geeks. Shows breed, complexity and potential to improve. Very impressive stuff. 96+
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