2019 Ornellaia Bolgheri Superiore Tuscany 750 ml

If there’s an Italian wine that collectors revere like First Growth Bordeaux and cult California Cabernet, it’s Ornellaia. The icon stands alongside its $500–$800+ Medoc counterparts—and as Antonio Galloni of Vinous says, it has “never failed to literally send shivers down my spine.” 

The newly released 2019 without a doubt deserves a place among the greats. Galloni called it “one of the most elegant” Ornellaias he’s ever tasted, declaring that “it is the wine’s stunning finesse that impresses most.” Decanter awarded it a staggering 98-point score, which makes it not just their second-highest-scoring ever, but the top Ornellaia of the past two decades.

Crafted by estate director Axel Heinz and winemaker Olga Fusari, the 2019 Ornellaia comprises 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, with 31% Merlot and a little Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Awash in aromas of spiced-fruit notes and savory herbs, rich on the palate with flavors of black currant and molten chocolate cake, and built on structured and elegant tannins, it will reward decades in the cellar. 

South of the famed Viale dei Cipressi, the cypress-lined avenue between Bolgheri and Castagneto Carducci, the Ornellaia estate drips with pedigree. The original Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc vines were planted by the legendary enologist André Tchelistcheff, who told founder Lodovico Antinori that the property was a viticultural “El Dorado.” 

Barely three miles from the glimmering Tuscan coast, we could see what he meant. The maritime breeze is a welcome respite from Italy’s sultry summer heat—a key to keeping the wine equal parts “sumptuous and racy,” as Galloni once described it. The result: a collectible that stands with the greatest wines in the world.