A tight and silky red with compacted fruit and tannin texture featuring blackcurrant, mushroom and bark undertones. Full body, firm tannins and a minerally finish. Excellent structure and mouthfeel. A cooler style of Ornellaia, bringing it back to the classicism of this celebrated region. Bordeaux blend. Better in 2018.

The 2012 Ornellaia has a deep garnet/ruby color, and sensual nose of sweet earth, pencil shavings, bay leaves, and blackberry. The palate is exuberant with olive tapenade, black cherry pastilles, and grilled game with freshness that lifts the finish. Simply wonderful. The blend is 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 7% Petit Verdot. - Vanessa Conlin

2012 was an extremely dry yet sound vintage where the awareness of making less extracted and more balanced wines was employed. If the style is more overt, with ripe but not jammy bramble fruits, it doesn’t lack a muffled nose of straw, fresh pipe tobacco and macerated flowers. On the palate this Ornellaia is full and powerful with big, creamy tannins and a chalky, woody finish, underlined by firm acidity most likely emphasised by the drought. Read more at https://www.decanter.com/wine-reviews/italy/tuscany/ornellaia-bolgheri-superiore-tuscany-italy-2012-28578#qpruTORDiqYCTb64.99

The 2012 Bolgheri Superiore Ornellaia is very similar to the 2011 Ornellaia that precedes it. These were both hot vintages, but 2012 saw the heat towards the end of the growing season. In fact the harvest in 2012 came two weeks earlier than average. This seamless blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (56%), Merlot (27%), Cabernet Franc (10%) and Petit Verdot (7%) shows some of the roundness and softness of that summer heat. The wine's density and extraction are spot-on and the bouquet is beautifully shaped by dark cherry nuances with spice, leather and tobacco at the back. There is a gorgeous sense of richness and plushness here. Some 160,000 bottles were produced. This edition of Ornellaia is more immediate in character and less suited to the decades-long aging that cooler vintages can affront so successfully.- ML

Features complex aromas of dark fruit and spice right out of the gate, with intense flavors of rich black cherry, blueberry and spice. The firm yet fine tannins add support as this builds to a long finish and aftertaste. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Better than previously reviewed. Best from 2018 through 2032. 2,150 cases imported. — BS