Le Volte dell'Ornellaia 2021, Tenuta dell'Ornellaia, Magnum 1.5 L

Le Volte dell’Ornellaia 2021, Tenuta dell’Ornellaia, Magnum 1.5 L

Name: Le Volte dell'Ornellaia 2021, Tenuta dell'Ornellaia, Magnum 1.5 L
SKU: VRLVO2021MG
Price: 79.00 CHF
Availability: InStock

CHF 79.00

Le Volte dell’Ornellaia 2021, Tenuta dell’Ornellaia, Magnum 1.5 L – Four miles from the Mediterranean, on the hills of Bolgheri on the Tuscan coast, lies an estate that led Antonio Galloni to declare: “Ornellaia’s wines have never failed to literally send shivers down my spine.” Le Volte is the estate’s third wine — conceived as an immediately accessible, early-drinking counterpart to the legendary Ornellaia. And yet: in a year like 2021, described by connoisseurs as one of the greatest Tuscan vintages of recent decades, Le Volte is not a “small wine.” It is a wine that carries the complete DNA of Ornellaia — generosity, structure, Mediterranean character — and presents it in a format that requires no ceremony. In a 1.5-litre Magnum, it ages more slowly, more deeply, more patiently — the ideal format for a wine you can open today, open again tomorrow, and enjoy even more the day after.

What’s it Like?

In the glass, a deep ruby with violet reflections — young, vivid, expressive. The nose is seductively rich: cassis, black cherry, Damson plum, blackberry — complemented by cedar, violets, rose blossom, sage and five-spice. With air, dried herbs, balsamic, black olives and a fine chocolate earth appear. On the palate, medium to full-bodied, with lively acidity and silky, polished tannins — the attack is generous, the mid-palate dense and aromatic, the finish long and spiced. Antonio Galloni described the 2021 as “one of the richest Le Voltes I can ever remember tasting” — potent and profound without losing its natural approachability.

Serving temperature: 17–18°C ·
Drinking window: now through 2029, optimal 2025–2027

Perfect For

A spontaneous, festive dinner. Its opulent, Mediterranean profile pairs beautifully with a charcoal-grilled entrecôte, braised beef cheeks with polenta, duck with cherries and balsamic, or a hard wheat pasta dish with rich meat sauce. In Magnum — the ideal wine for a large table.

The Critics Agree…

Antonio Galloni of Vinous awarded 89 points, calling the 2021 “one of the richest Le Voltes I can ever remember tasting — potent and brooding.” Wine Enthusiast gave 91 points for its “cherry and pomegranate-rich nose with savoury herbaceousness.” Goedhuis named it “one of our drinking wines of the year” with “elegance and poise indicative of a truly superb vintage.” The critics average stands at 91 points.

What is it? The third wine of Italy’s most iconic Super Tuscan estate — approachable, opulent and immediately seductive, in the ideal Magnum format.
From? Tuscany, Italy (IGT Toscana) — Bolgheri, Maremma.
Grapes? Approx. 65% Merlot, 20% Sangiovese, 12–14% Cabernet Sauvignon — vinified separately in stainless steel tanks, aged 10 months in barriques and cement tanks.
Tastes Like? Cassis, black cherry, blackberry, cedar, dried herbs, black olives and fine chocolate.
Critics score? 91/100 Wine Enthusiast · 89/100 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.
Format: Magnum (1.5 L) — the ideal format for slow ageing and large tables.

3 in stock

SKU: VRLVO2021MG Categories: 1.5 L, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sangiovese, Tuscany

Le Volte dell’Ornellaia 2021, Tenuta dell’Ornellaia, Magnum 1.5 L

Tenuta dell’Ornellaia: El Dorado by the Tuscan Sea

In the wine world, certain designations stick. “Italy’s First Growth.” “The Lafite of Tuscany.” “El Dorado.” Ornellaia has received all of these names — and none is an exaggeration.

The story does not begin with an estate. It begins with a dream.

1981: A Field Full of Promise

Lodovico Antinori, brother of Piero Antinori of Tignanello fame, was searching in the late 1970s for a site capable of replicating the great Bordeaux blends in Tuscany. He found it on the Tuscan coast — in Bolgheri, a stretch of land the wine world then barely knew, but which already harboured Sassicaia. In 1981, he planted the first Merlot and Cabernet vines on the Tenuta dell’Ornellaia. He brought in one of the world’s greatest oenologists — André Tchelistcheff, the legend who had taught winemaking in Napa Valley like no other. Tchelistcheff visited the estate, tasted the soil, smelled the air — and called the property “El Dorado.”

He was right.

The First Vintage and Immediate Fame

1985 saw the first vintage of Ornellaia. The reaction of the wine world was immediate, overwhelming, unambiguous: this was not an ordinary wine. This was a wine that inaugurated a new era in Bolgheri — more structured than Sassicaia, more opulent than Tignanello, with a softness and accessibility rarely found in the Bordeaux style. Robert Parker was enthusiastic. Jancis Robinson was enthusiastic. The rest of the world followed.

Within a few years, Ornellaia appeared on the wine lists of the world’s finest restaurants. Today it stands at number 5 of the most searched wines on wine-searcher.com in all of Italy — and on the Liv-ex Fine Wine Power 100.

The Frescobaldi Era: Continuity as Philosophy

In 2005, the Frescobaldi family — one of Italy’s oldest and most prestigious wine dynasties, present in Tuscany for 700 years — acquired the majority of Ornellaia. What followed was not a reinvention, but a deepening. Axel Heinz, described by Antonio Galloni as “one of the world’s most in-demand winemakers,” took over direction of the estate and introduced a radical philosophy: each vintage is defined by a single word — the “Vendemmia d’Artista.” This word is interpreted by a contemporary artist who creates a work for the estate’s permanent collection. In 2021, that word is: “Spontaneità.” Spontaneity — the freedom of nature in a perfect year.

Le Volte: Not the Little Brother — the Open Door

Le Volte is not the second wine of Ornellaia — that is Le Serre Nuove. Le Volte is the third wine: conceived to be immediately accessible before the great wines are ready. But in a vintage like 2021, where grape quality was exceptional, Le Volte is more than that. It is the open door into the Ornellaia universe — wider open than ever, with a fullness and depth that led Galloni to speak of “one of the richest Le Voltes I can ever remember tasting.”

In a Magnum, that door is opened twice as wide. And the room behind is larger than expected.