Ornellaia, Tenuta dell'Ornellaia 2010

A wine with a wonderful depth of berry, chocolate and hazelnut character. Full-bodied with velvety tannins and a round, delicious finish. Fruit-forward and exuberant: more in-your-face fruit to this wine than in many past vintages. Enticing all the same. This comes in a special bottle commemorating the 25th anniversary of the wine coming onto the market. Try in 2016

Tasted at ""The Masterclass - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia""
The two Italian wines, the 2010 Ornellaia and 2009 Antinori Guado al Tasso Bolgheri, both performed brilliantly, holding their own against some heavy hitters from Bordeaux, Napa Valley and Australia. The sumptuous, rich 2010 Ornellaia offered lots of chocolate and berry fruit intermixed with hints of espresso roast and vanillin.

'This is a wine with no redeeming fault', was the comment of a fellow taster as we examined this, the latest, 25th anniversary, release from the famous winery established next door to Sassicaia's vineyards by Lodovico Antinori...This latest wine, from a notably cool vintage for Bolgheri, has so much more grace than many recent vintages. Deep crimson, it is beautifully fresh and clean with a little tobacco leaf lift on the nose. There's nothing flashy or effortful about this, just beautiful balance and medium weight fruit that's already approachable. As one might expect for such a youthful wine, there are some perceptible tannins on the finish but overall it is luscious without being over the top. A bit sweeter and thicker than Sassicaia 2010. Horses for courses. Bravo!

Smells dark and a little cedary but it is inevitably pretty closed at this stage. Opens up to a fine subtle Bordeaux-like perfume. Plus lovely black olive notes and mocha. Smoky with quite a bit of oak but not particularly sweet from the oak, though there's oak spice and a light toastiness. Thick with tannins and oak influence, compact but very rounded. It is all texture at the moment and not a lot of flavour but it is beautifully textured and fresh and lithe.

53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot. Harvest mid Sept to 12 Oct. Malo mostly in barrel (70% new), 18 months in oak, blended after 12 months.