Ornellaia, one of the world’s most prestigious wineries, has just released the new 2018 vintage. Every year since 2009, an artist is commissioned to illustrate the label on a theme that corresponds to the vintage. These handmade labels adorn 111 custom-made bottles sold at a charity auction. The theme for 2018 was the Italian word “grace”, a graceful vintage. This is how the wine is.
Visiting the Ornellaia winery in Bolgheri in southern Tuscany is a memory for life for all who enjoy the beauty of life. The joy of the eye starts already at Bolgheri’s famous cypress alley that leads up to la Bolgherese, the road that divides the wine region in two. By Tuscan standards, it is a small region, only 1370 hectares. South of la Bolgherese, closer to the sea, the soil is mainly sand, but in the northern part it is more clay and rock. Ornellaia is located in the north, with vineyards overlooking the light blue Mediterranean, with forest protecting its backside. The vineyards are so well tended to that it makes me think of well-groomed bonsai trees. They are surrounded by high fences, because here the grapes are literally worth their weight in gold.
Despite all the beauty, the king of Tuscany’s grapes, sangiovese, does not thrive here. The area is better known for its French grape varieties, and references are often made to Bordeaux.
Bolgheri makes some of the world’s most famous wines, such as Sassicaia and Ornellaia. When new vintages are launched, there is great interest. So it was again this year when Ornellaia presented the famous Tenuta dell’Ornellaia 2018, Doc Bolgheri Superiore Rosso, with a professionally organized online tasting.
Ornellaia is owned since 2012 by the Frescobaldi family, one of Tuscany’s historic wineries. Each year, an artist is selected to make 111 specially designed labels on a specific theme that reflects the vintage. These are used for one salmanazar, ten imperiali and one hundred double magnums. 111 bottles. This year, the theme was the Italian word grace (grace, elegance, beauty), which is thought to reflect the 2018 vintage. The bottles have been designed by the Belgian artist and director Jan Fabre. He has dressed the bottles with sculptures made of coral. They will be sold through Christie’s, the auction company, to wine and art lovers around the world. Since the start of “vendemmia di artista” in 2009, 2 million euros have been raised and donated to various charities that work with art in various forms.
The 2018 vintage
“2018 was a year where spring brought an unusual amount of rain, while the summer was dry with clear, sunny days in July, during the grape veraison. At the harvest, which took place between August 31 and October 8, the grapes were healthy, and the sugar and acidity were in perfect balance,” says the chief winemaker Axel Heintz.
For the first time in the winery’s history, Ornellaia’s blend consists mostly of merlot: 51% merlot, 40% cabernet sauvignon, 7% cabernet franc, 2% petit verdot). It is noticeable in the wine, which is unusually juicy and light compared to previous vintages that played more on power. The wine is still full-bodied but with finely preserved fruit, complex, elegant tones of ripe raspberries, sweet cherries, sweet tobacco, vanilla and coffee beans with elegant acidity and ripe integrated tannins. Long juicy finish.
