2018 Poggio alle Gazze

The Ornellaia 2018 Poggio alle Gazze dell'Ornellaia is a blend of 83% Sauvignon Blanc, 11% Vermentino and 6% Viognier. The wine pours from the bottle with a light golden hue and produces aromas of stone fruit, Golden Delicious apple and honeydew melon. To me, this vintage doesn't quite have the vibrant, tonic zest that we've seen previously, like in the 2016 edition. The sparkle is there, but it doesn't shine as bright perhaps because the richness of the Viognier seems to shows more weight here. The wine is fermented in new and used barrique (for about 50% of the the total), and stainless steel and cement are used for the other half. No malolactic fermentation occurs. The wine then goes into wood for six months. Some 35,000 bottles were made, and this vintage was released in March 2020.

A bright, fruity white with fennel, lemon-peel and sliced green-apple character. It’s full-bodied with lovely fruit and a crisp finish. Refreshingly fruity. Drink now.

Poggio alle Gazze, Ornellaia's Sauvignon Blanc-based white, is especially fine in 2018. Lemon confit, sage, mint and bright floral notes are so finely cut. I would prefer to drink it on the early side in order to capture all of that vibrancy and energy.