THE PRODUCER
Founded in the early 1980s by Lodovico Antinori, nephew of Sassicaia’s Mario
Incisa della Roccheta. The first vintage to be released was the 1985. Initially
favouring more Merlot (and to a lesser extent Cabernet Franc) it was a
charmingly hedonistic and seductive wine, with a unique aromatic intensity, and
which easily built its own reputation out of the shadow of Sassicaia.

Today the blend is Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc with a soupcon
of Petit Verdot, and aged for around 24 months in mainly new French oak
barriques. In 2002, Lodovico Antinori sold the estate to Robert Mondavi, who
later sold a share to Frescobaldi, who today has full ownership of the property
along also with sister property Masseto. Frecobaldi has been fine custodians and
the wine’s reputation has only grown over the past twenty years.

THE WINE
The blend varies with fruit ripeness and vintage conditions but is usually
comprised of at least two thirds Cabernet Sauvignon, with around one third of
Merlot, and soupcons of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Fermentation takes
place in stainless steel and concrete tanks and is followed by maceration for
about 15 days and finally ageing for around 24 months in around 70% new French
oak barriques. After bottling the wine ages for a further 12 months before
release. Aromatically rich and with a full and vibrant body with density and
elegance, Ornellaia is a wine of enormous critical acclaim.

INFORMATION
Type:RedVintage:2015Country:ItalyRegion:Tuscany
Sub region:Bolgheri
Grape:53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 17% Cabernet Franc & 7% Petit Verdot
Style:Bold and StructuredSweetness:DryABV:14%Drinking window:2020 - 2035Size:
750mlFood match:Beef and Venison

CRITICS SCORES
We choose our wines based on a range of criteria(seehow we choose our wines)of
which critic scores is justone. Rather than simply highlight the best score to
promote a wine, our average critic score is calculated from the scores provided
by several respected wine critics, who we follow for specific regions. They do
not represent all critic scores and, wherever possible, we try and give more
weight to more recent reviews. Where appropriate we consider market-based scores
like Global Wine Score or Wine Searcher Average scores.

As a rule, we look to offer wines that achieve a92/100average critic score or
better and frankly a lot of very good wines simply don’t make the cut. As a
high-end provider we want to reflect that positioning in the quality of wines we
offer. Such wines are only a tiny fraction of those generally on offer in the
market. We believe that an average score is a more conservative and
representative approach, but it is still subjective and only offered as a guide
to our customers, who will (and should) do their own research. We will add
individual critic scores to our website in the future.