2021 Old Vine Cabernet Sauvignon blended by Antonio Galloni from vineyards at Ornellaia

I was absolutely blown away when I tasted the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignons in component lots during a visit to Ornellaia in September 2022. The young wines were intensely aromatic, layered and full of character. My mind raced as I began to imagine what a pure Cabernet Sauvignon from these parcels might be like. Inspired by those lots, I created a blend from the old vines section of Bellaria, one of the core vineyards at Ornellaia. We added a splash of Petit Verdot at the end to lift the aromatics and add a kick of backbone. The wine was aged in barrels from three different coopers, which we followed over time. In mid-2023, I tasted through samples from each of the coopers and experimented with various blends. In the end, however, the wine from Taransaud barrels struck me as the most complete expression of the wine. Tasted today, the 2021 Old Vines Cabernet is a potent, structured red. Pure Cabernet Sauvignons from the Tuscan Coast are rare, so there are not a lot of benchmarks. More than anything else, the Old Vines Cabernet shows a different and unique facet of the estate. Initially rather reticent, the 2021 opens beautifully with air, revealing all the pedigree of this great vintage in its dynamic personality. Graphite, spice, new leather, licorice and espresso lead into a core of dark, sepia-toned fruit. If opened in its youth, the 2021 requires several hours of air for the fruit to emerge. It should drink well for many years to come.