Community Tasting Note

• sfwinelover1 Likes this wine: 97 points

  November 13, 2021 - Old world, new world; old friends, new friends (sfwl's deck in warm and sunny Noe Valley): Brian's wonderful red contribution to wineapalooza; I know he opened it beforehand, but don't know for how long or if it was decanted, but it was definitely ready to go when we broke the seal. On the very vibrant nose and palate, sweet and savory black currants and cherries, blackberries, and plums; charred earth; ground spice; leather; minerality; dark florals; cinnamon, and tobacco. Deep purple, full-bodied, medium to full legs. Medium+ tannins and acidity which were partially integrated, but to the extent not, well balanced by fruit and secondary notes, no heat despite the 15% abv, but with that wonderful incandescence like the Dal Forno. Tremendous persistence, complexity and intensity. My first bottle of Ornellaia, and while youthful and energetic, it wasn't unharmonious in any way. Terrific Bordeaux style blend in which the CS gave complexity, the merlot roundness, the CF lift (I must confess I'm never sure exactly what I'm supposed to be tasting in a PV). As mentioned, shockingly good to go on the pour, but it deepened and became more expressive over the course of the afternoon, all the more so with the small pour left over--thank you so much, Brian, for leaving!--on night 2. The fruit is extraordinary, but unlike the Covert, the structure and savoriness really add profundity, which, while already impressive, seem certain to increase greatly over the coming years, nay, decades. Great with the charcuterie and on the second night, lasagna, but more than balanced and elegant enough to stand on its own. If I had one or 2 bottles, I'd hold or give them plenty of air, but if you're lucky enough to have a bunch, no reason not to find a special occasion--except for my fortunate CT friends for whom this kind of thing is a regular occasion quaff--and let it rip. Like the Tusk at the prior tasting, if this esteemed group of wines were to be reconvened in the future, this could well climb to the top of the medal stand, but no disgrace being just a bit behind the Favia and Dal Forno on this date. As a side note, this bottling is a bit of a mystery to me, as it has the same grapes in the same proportions as the "standard" Ornellaia, and for the 12 vintages of this wine, there are zero (yep, a big goose egg) TNs, so, at the risk of violating CT protocol, I'm copying this TN into the "standard" Ornellaia section (yeah, I also love attention). I note that some Solares have a particularly artistic label, but this one did not. 96-97+++

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1 Comment

• Cyclist commented:

  11/16/21, 10:42 AM - SF, the Ornellaia's have a special name that go with each vintage year, so "Solare" was the 2017, 2018 is "La Grazia" and only bottles that are packaged in 6-pack wood cases get the year's special artist label. Weird way to do things, but hey it's Italy, they make great food and wine so I won't question it. So you did the right thing copying the note I think.

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