Ornellaia 1999

Tenuta dell'Ornellaia

Units	Size	Case size	GBP Price:	Quantities	Buy

Tasting Notes
Wow. The center palate to this is superb with superb fruit and density. Full body, incredible density yet so balanced and harmonious. Blackcurrants and blackberries come the fore here. The length and beauty are so great. Class in the glass. Could it better 1998 in the long term? This was a little overlooked by many. Score: 98 James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com 17 February 2017
Wow. Currants, berries, cherries and minerals, but all subtlety. Full- to medium-bodied, with silky tannins and a long finish. Complex wine. However, a significant price hike, which follows the purchase of the estate by the Mondavi and Frescobaldi families, is disappointing. Best after 2005. 12,165 cases made. –JS Score: 94 James Suckling, Wine Spectator Maturity: 2005+ 15 September 2002
I was blown away by the 1999 Ornellaia. Still fresh and youthful, it reveals a powerful, authoritative personality in its layers of primary fruit, with its opulence beautifully balanced by its big yet polished tannins. Another year or two of bottle age is probably called for but readers will have a hard time keeping their hands off this gorgeous wine. Given its considerable structure it should have no problem aging for another dozen years. In 1999 the blend consisted of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. 95/Anticipated maturity: 2009-2019. Tenuta dell’Ornellaia is without question one of Italy’s blue-chip properties. The gorgeous, sprawling estate is located in Bolgheri in Tuscany’s Maremma. On a recent visit I had the opportunity to taste a number of the estate’s wines with General Manager/Agronomist Leonardo Raspini and Oenologist Axel Heinz, including verticals of the estate’s top bottlings Ornellaia and Masseto. Ornellaia is a Bordeaux-inspired blend consisting principally of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. In 2003 a small percentage of Petit Verdot was introduced. The use of several varietals gives the winemaking team the luxury of being able to tailor the exact proportion of the blend to the specific strengths of a given vintage. Because the blend tends to vary from year to year in a vertical tasting Ornellaia shows many different facets of its personality. After harvest the varietals are vinified separately. Fermentation and maceration lasts between 25-30 days after which the wines are moved into French oak barrels where they age for 12 months. The wines are then racked and assembled into the final blend, which spends an additional six months in barrel prior to being bottled. The percentage of new oak has risen from 50%, which was used for vintages 1997 and 1998, to 60% used in 1999, to the 70% the estate has employed since 2000. Score: 95 Antonio Galloni, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2009-2019 30 April 2007
The 1999 Ornellaia demonstrates immediately the superiority of the vintage in its dark, blackish color, powerful and expansive nose of cassis, graphite, tar, and Mediterranean herbs, and its rich, concentrated, and deep flavors, sizeable but very supple as well. Drink: 2005-2022. Ornellaia has been through some significant changes over the past several years. First with the departure of Lodovico Antinori and the arrival of the new owners, Mondavi and Frescobaldi, then with a double changeover of winemakers, first Andrea Giovannini (now at Monsanto) from 1999 to 2001, then Thomas Duroux, trained at Bordeaux and then the oenologist for the unsuccessful Mondavi Languedoc project. High quality, however, has been a constant – these have been Bolgheri’s best wines, along with those of Le Macchiole, over the past five years, and there is no indication of any change in the level of ambition. Score: 94 Antonio Galloni, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2005-2022 30 April 2004

Tasting Notes

Wow. The center palate to this is superb with superb fruit and density. Full body, incredible density yet so balanced and harmonious. Blackcurrants and blackberries come the fore here. The length and beauty are so great. Class in the glass. Could it better 1998 in the long term? This was a little overlooked by many.

Score: 98

James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com 17 February 2017

Wow. Currants, berries, cherries and minerals, but all subtlety. Full- to medium-bodied, with silky tannins and a long finish. Complex wine. However, a significant price hike, which follows the purchase of the estate by the Mondavi and Frescobaldi families, is disappointing. Best after 2005. 12,165 cases made. –JS

Score: 94

James Suckling, Wine Spectator Maturity: 2005+ 15 September 2002

I was blown away by the 1999 Ornellaia. Still fresh and youthful, it reveals a powerful, authoritative personality in its layers of primary fruit, with its opulence beautifully balanced by its big yet polished tannins. Another year or two of bottle age is probably called for but readers will have a hard time keeping their hands off this gorgeous wine. Given its considerable structure it should have no problem aging for another dozen years. In 1999 the blend consisted of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. 95/Anticipated maturity: 2009-2019. Tenuta dell’Ornellaia is without question one of Italy’s blue-chip properties. The gorgeous, sprawling estate is located in Bolgheri in Tuscany’s Maremma. On a recent visit I had the opportunity to taste a number of the estate’s wines with General Manager/Agronomist Leonardo Raspini and Oenologist Axel Heinz, including verticals of the estate’s top bottlings Ornellaia and Masseto. Ornellaia is a Bordeaux-inspired blend consisting principally of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. In 2003 a small percentage of Petit Verdot was introduced. The use of several varietals gives the winemaking team the luxury of being able to tailor the exact proportion of the blend to the specific strengths of a given vintage. Because the blend tends to vary from year to year in a vertical tasting Ornellaia shows many different facets of its personality. After harvest the varietals are vinified separately. Fermentation and maceration lasts between 25-30 days after which the wines are moved into French oak barrels where they age for 12 months. The wines are then racked and assembled into the final blend, which spends an additional six months in barrel prior to being bottled. The percentage of new oak has risen from 50%, which was used for vintages 1997 and 1998, to 60% used in 1999, to the 70% the estate has employed since 2000.

Score: 95

Antonio Galloni, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2009-2019 30 April 2007

The 1999 Ornellaia demonstrates immediately the superiority of the vintage in its dark, blackish color, powerful and expansive nose of cassis, graphite, tar, and Mediterranean herbs, and its rich, concentrated, and deep flavors, sizeable but very supple as well. Drink: 2005-2022. Ornellaia has been through some significant changes over the past several years. First with the departure of Lodovico Antinori and the arrival of the new owners, Mondavi and Frescobaldi, then with a double changeover of winemakers, first Andrea Giovannini (now at Monsanto) from 1999 to 2001, then Thomas Duroux, trained at Bordeaux and then the oenologist for the unsuccessful Mondavi Languedoc project. High quality, however, has been a constant – these have been Bolgheri’s best wines, along with those of Le Macchiole, over the past five years, and there is no indication of any change in the level of ambition.

Score: 94

Antonio Galloni, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2005-2022 30 April 2004

Your Lists & Checkout

New Arrivals

Advanced Search

wine regions

quick links

Ornellaia 1999

Tenuta dell'Ornellaia

search wines

Full wine List

RSS feeds

wine regions

join our mailing list