ORNELLAIA BOLGHERI SUPERIORE 2022

In the sun-soaked hills of Bolgheri on the Tuscan coast, Ornellaia crafts their eponymous flagship wine with an unwavering commitment to excellence. This iconic Italian estate, practicing sustainable viticulture across their Mediterranean-influenced terroir, creates a "Grand Vin" that perfectly expresses Bolgheri's distinctive maritime climate and diverse soils. Their meticulous blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot delivers a wine of remarkable complexity—dark berries and black currants mingle with leather, tobacco, and Mediterranean herbs, while silky tannins provide impressive structure. Each vintage uniquely reflects its growing season, yielding a wine with exceptional balance, power, and elegance that ages magnificently.

James Suckling (97/100): A Mediterranean-style wine. Stunning elegance on the nose, with vibrant dried eucalyptus leaves, flowers, restrained brambleberries and hints of black cherries, dried bananas, milk chocolate, cloves and graphite. The palate is full-bodied with elegant tannins and a touch of dust. It’s savory and well packed, with integrated, brilliant freshness and a ripe, fruity finish with a toasty aftertaste of blond tobacco. Try from 2026.

Wine Advocate (97/100): Tasted a few months after it was bottled, the Ornellaia 2022 Bolgheri Superiore Ornellaia will be coming to market in March 2025. The blend is 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 10% Petit Verdot. The wine sees 18 months of aging with up to 70% new oak, but the trick, proprietor Lamberto Frescobaldi tells me, is drawing from a large group of coopers with different toast levels and forests. "I don't want to make a wine of any one tonnellerie," he says. The oak element is crucial to the identity of this wine that reveals dark fruit, blackberry, sweet spice and cinnamon. Most of the vines were planted in the 1980s, and the average age of the plants is over 20 years old. Fruit comes from many parcels, including Bellaria, Bellaria Nuova, Bellaria Alta, Pero, Fosso, Vigna Vecchia and Stallina. Indeed, some 80 wines are made before final blending. The 2022 vintage will be remembered for its full-bodied appeal, concentrated fruit and generous oak renderings. Petit Verdot plays a slightly larger role in this vintage and was one of the surprise hits of 2022. It serves to elongate the wine and adds to its length. The wine's abundant fruit weight cedes to elegantly integrated tannins. This vintage will appeal to die-hard Ornellaia enthusiasts. (M. Lerner)