Winemaker Notes

With its usual deep ruby red colour, Ornellaia 2020 stands out on the nose with ripe red fruits and delicate vanilla and gentle tobacco notes. Upon tasting, the wine reveals itself to be rounded and velvety, making an enjoyable and engaging first impression that entices for a second sip. The tannins are dense yet elegant and the finish proves to be savory and enduring.

Critical Acclaim

James Suckling - 98pts

Alluring aromas of lead pencil and currants with crushed stone and iodine. Full-bodied with hemmed in tannins that are tight and focused. Very fresh and energetic with wonderful length and intensity for this vintage.

Jeb Dunnuck - 96pts

The 2020 Ornellaia is 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, raised in 70% new French oak for 18 months, with another 12 months in bottle prior to release. Flush with herbs and menthol, blackberry, and cedar, it is full bodied and fills the sides of the mouth with rounded fruit of luxurious plum, black cherry, and toast, with supple and velvety tannins.

Decanter - 96pts

Estate director Axel Heinz called 2020 ‘a classic Ornellaia,’ and picked the theme of ‘La Proporzione‘ (proportion) to describe its character. Indeed, the blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot marks a return to a more typical blend following the pendulum swings of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon in 2019, and 51% Merlot in 2018. Fine-grained and beautifully textured, its finely integrated tannins support a concentration of black fruits lightened by red berries. Aromas of black cherry, liquorice, dark chocolate, cedar and damp earth make for a fragrant wine, accompanied by menthol and balsamic streaks which run through the wine and impart plenty of freshness. It finishes with a stony and salty element along with some chocolatey and woody hints. Tight and moreish, its ripeness of fruit combined with freshness and structure adeptly tells the story of this earlier-ripening vintage.

Wine Spectator - 96pts

Inviting aromas of blackberry, black currant, anise, cedar, vanilla and tobacco draw you in to this red, which is sleek and open on the palate. This is so well-balanced, it's approachable now, yet there's a bit of reserve too. The fruit flavors are prominent on the finish, along with mineral and spice notes, while the lasting impression is a salty, flinty element. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.