I’ve never found Ornellaia’s 3rd wine, Le Volte, a particularly interesting wine. It’s relatively inexpensive compared to the other Ornellaia wines, but it is also pretty pedestrian in style. Well-crafted, often pretty soft, typically lacking in character and depth. An easy-drinking wine, but a bit pricey for such.
Yet, when I was invited to this vertical, still I thought it would be interesting to attend. With this many vintages I could see if the wine is as boring with every vintage, or if there are ups and downs.
Well, it turned out that there is quite a lot of variation between the vintages - the lousy ones really were pretty lousy! However, while the best vintages were actually quite good, it seems that even at its best Le Volte isn’t a particularly memorable wine. If you know a vintage is going to be good, the wine can evolve rather nicely for a decade, but it’s not going to turn into something spectacular with any amount of aging.
Oh yeah, we also scored Le Voltes after we tasted them. Everybody got three points that we could distribute freely to the wines however we wanted to, ie. one point for three different wines, three points to one very special wine or one point for one and two points for another wine. Here is the final ranking of the wines, including the points the wines got (and my personal rating in parentheses):
1 - 2012 Le Volte, 13 pts. (91)
2 - 2013 Le Volte, 5 pts. (92)
2 - 2018 Le Volte, 5 pts. (75)
2 - 2019 Le Volte, 5 pts. (90)
3 - 2020 Le Volte, 4 pts. (89)
4 - 2021 Le Volte, 1 pt. (87)
2 - 2017 Le Volte, 0 pts. (73)
- 2021 Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Le Volte Toscana IGT - Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT (3.10.2023)
A blend of Merlot, Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon harvested between mid-September and the beginning of October. The varieties were fermented separately in stainless steel tanks. Aged for 10 months in concrete tanks and barriques that were previously used to age Ornellaia. 14% alcohol.
Youthful, moderately translucent ruby-red color with a faint purplish hue. The nose feels youthful, dark-toned and quite sweetly-fruited with aromas of juicy dark plums and ripe black cherries, some spicy tones, a little bit of sweet blackberry, light candied notes of red licorice and a woody hint of savory oak spice. The wine feels ripe, youthful and juicy on the palate with a moderately full body and somewhat sweet-toned flavors of dark forest fruits and ripe black cherries, some plummy tones, a little bit of candied primary fruit, light juicy blackcurrant tones, a hint of licorice and a faint woody touch of savory oak spice. The overall feel is quite balanced, albeit a bit on the soft side with the medium-to-moderately high acidity and ripe medium tannins. The finish is youthful, ripe and sweet-toned with a juicy, moderately long aftertaste of black cherries, some licorice, a little bit of candied primary fruit, light blackberry jelly tones, a hint of savory spice and a touch of plummy fruit.
A balanced but also somewhat ho-hum Tuscan IGT red. Although the wine sports a somewhat Tuscan note to its flavor profile, the overall feel is somewhat generic, anonymous and way too primary. I guess the wine might show more sense of balance and depth once it loses those sweet, candied primary fruit flavors, but as a whole this vintage of Le Volte doesn't feel particularly interesting or memorable. Feels quite expensive for the quality at 29,90€. The wine got 1 point from the eleven participants in our tasting of seven Le Voltes, making it finish on fourth place.
(87 points) - 2020 Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Le Volte Toscana IGT - Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT (3.10.2023)
According to some sources, this is a blend of Merlot (51%), Cabernet Sauvignon (21%), Petit Verdot (11%), Montepulciano (10%), Cabernet Franc (4%), Malbec (2%) and Sangiovese (1%) harvested between mid-September and the beginning of October. The varieties were fermented separately in stainless steel tanks. Aged for 10 months in concrete tanks and barriques that were previously used to age Ornellaia. 13,5% alcohol.
Quite youthful and moderately translucent ruby-red color. The nose feels quite fresh and pleasant with aromas of red plums, some ripe red cherries, a little bit of licorice, light darker fruit tones, a hint of strawberry and a touch of brambly blackberry. The wine feels dry, juicy and silky on the palate with a medium-to-moderately full body and quite youthful flavors of ripe black cherries, some strawberry tones, a little bit of savory spice, light sweet notes of juicy red plums, a hint of raspberry and a woody touch of old oak spice. The overall feel is enjoyable balanced with the moderately high acidity and somewhat grippy medium-plus tannins. The finish is juicy, quite long and somewhat grippy with a dry-ish aftertaste of ripe black cherries, some crunchy red plums, a little bit of earthy spice, light savory wood tones, a hint of licorice and a touch of juicy strawberry.
After the softer, sweeter and darker-toned 2021 Le Volte, this 2020 vintage seemed a bit drier, more structured and noticeably more red-toned in its fruit profile. Not a particularly impressive or memorable wine, having a somewhat generic red wine feel to it, this is still an enjoyable little weekday red. However, there are better vintages of Le Volte out there - for example the 2019 vintage was more to my liking. The wine got 4 points from the eleven participants in our tasting of seven Le Voltes, making it finish on third place.
(89 points) - 2019 Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Le Volte Toscana IGT - Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT (3.10.2023)
According to some sources, this is a blend of Merlot (67%), Cabernet Sauvignon (20%) and Sangiovese (13%) harvested between the beginning of September and the beginning of October. The varieties were fermented separately in stainless steel tanks. Aged for 10 months in concrete tanks and barriques that were previously used to age Ornellaia. 13,5% alcohol.
Moderately translucent ruby-red color. The nose feels dark-toned, somewhat sweetly-fruited and a bit restrained with aromas of ripe cherries, some fresh black cherries, a little bit of earthy spices, light sweet notes of Bassett's black wine gums, a hint of licorice root and a touch of blackcurrant. The wine feels dry, dense and balanced on the palate with a medium body and ripe yet savory flavors of fresh black cherries, some savory notes of meaty umami, a little bit of black raspberry, light woody notes of savory oak spice, a hint of licorice root and a touch of tart red plum. The high acidity and moderately grippy medium-plus tannins lend good sense of balance to the wine. The finish is dry and moderately grippy with a rather long aftertaste of brambly black raspberries, some fresh red plums, a little bit of licorice root, light woody notes of savory oak spice, a hint of sweet black cherry and a touch of cassis.
A nice, firm and balanced Tuscan red. Although I did like the somewhat more red-toned flavor profile of the 2020 vintage a bit more, this was otherwise a better with its good sense of depth, firmness and structure. Although the nose was maybe a tad reticent, the wine showed good flavor intensity on the palate. Enjoyable stuff at the moment, but most likely the wine will continue to evolve and improve for a number of years more. A nice effort. The wine got 5 points from the eleven participants in our tasting of seven Le Voltes, making it finish on shared second place.
(90 points) - 2018 Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Le Volte Toscana IGT - Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT (3.10.2023)
A blend of Merlot, Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon harvested between late August and the beginning of October. The varieties were fermented separately in stainless steel tanks. Aged for 10 months in concrete tanks and barriques that were previously used to age Ornellaia. 14% alcohol.
Deep, dark and moderately opaque black cherry color with a slightly evolved plummy hue. The nose feels big, solar and very sweet-toned with aromas of ripe black cherries, some plummy tones, a little bit of strawberry, light boysenberry jam tones, a hint of raspberry marmalade and a touch of red licorice. The wine feels rich, broad and round on the palate with a full body and dark-toned flavors of sweet dark plums and ripe black cherries, some boysenberry tones, a little bit of strawberry, light notes of red licorice and a hint of woody spice. The rather modest acidity and supple ripe tannins make the wine feel quite soft and even a bit flabby. The finish is rich, somewhat warm and moderately long with a dark-toned aftertaste of black cherries, some juicy dark plums, a little bit of boysenberry, light strawberry jam tones, a hint of raspberry marmalade and a touch of Bassett's black wine gum.
Ugh. After a few balanced and firm vintages of Le Volte (2020, 2019), this vintage felt way too heavy, soft and sweet. The fruit department feels super sunny, soft and way too sweet, showing almost jammy qualities, whereas the structure comes across as too sweet for such a big and ripe wine, making the wine feel quite blowzy and lackluster despite the rich, vibrant fruit. A rather disappointing effort for me. Yet still, the wine got 5 points from the eleven participants in our tasting of seven Le Voltes, making it finish on shared second place.
(75 points) - 2017 Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Le Volte Toscana IGT - Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT (3.10.2023)
A blend of Merlot, Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon harvested between late August and late September. The varieties were fermented separately in stainless steel tanks. Aged for 10 months in concrete tanks and barriques that were previously used to age Ornellaia. 13,5% alcohol.
Very deep, dark and moderately evolved black cherry color with a somewhat aged plummy hue. The nose feels surprisingly dull and restrained, almost mute, with vague aromas of dark fruits, some spirituous alcoholic notes, a little bit of balsamic VA, light sweet notes of dried dark fruits and a hint of earth. The wine feels ripe, dense and extracted on the palate with a full body and somewhat understated flavors of solar dark fruits, some earthy spice, a little bit of sour cherry bitterness, light alcoholic warmth and a hint of tobacco. The overall feel is quite stern and tightly-knit, thanks to the combination of moderately high acidity, quite tough and aggressive tannins and quite reticent fruit. The finish is dense, chewy and tannic with a moderately long, dark-toned aftertaste of dark fruits, some earthy spice, light plummy tones, a little bit of tobacco, a hint of dried red fruits and a touch of balsamic VA.
This was a rather underwhelming effort by all standards. The wine is somewhat recognizable for Le Volte, but the hot, dry vintage shows quite a bit - and rather badly. The wine feels super-sunny, as if it is made with super-ripe grapes that had thick skins and relatively little concentrated juice. This is stern, unbalanced and way too ripe with very little in the way of fruit or depth of flavor. Although the structure would promise quite a bit of potential for aging, I doubt this wine is capable of turning into anything interesting with any amount of aging. Avoid. The wine got 0 points from the eleven participants in our tasting of seven Le Voltes, making it finish on shared last place.
(73 points) - 2013 Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Le Volte Toscana IGT - Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT (3.10.2023)
A blend of Merlot (50%), Sangiovese (30%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (20%) harvested between mid-September and mid-October. The varieties were fermented separately in stainless steel tanks. Aged for 10 months in concrete tanks and barriques that were previously used to age Ornellaia. 13,5% alcohol.
Deep, somewhat translucent and beautifully luminous black cherry color. Nuanced, savory-sweet and slightly evolved nose with aromas of ripe black cherries, some licorice root, a little bit of meaty character, light sweet nuances of wizened red fruits, a hint of woody oak spice, a touch of old leather and a whiff of blackcurrant. The wine feels dense, silky and enjoyably sinewy on the palate with a medium body and quite dry flavors of fresh black cherry, some wizened dark fruit tones, a little bit of old leather, light bitter notes of sour cherries, a hint of tobacco and a touch of ripe blackcurrant. The wine shows good sense of structure with its high acidity and moderately grippy medium-plus tannins. The finish is long, rich yet dry and somewhat tannic with an intense aftertaste of sour cherries and ripe dark fruits, some leathery tones, a little bit of pipe tobacco, light evolved notes of wizened black cherries, a hint of blackcurrant and a touch of licorice root.
Typically Le Volte is a somewhat pedestrian and anonymous effort, even for a Super-Tuscan red. It's too often just rather generic aromatically and a bit on the soft side, structurally. However, this vintage is unlike any other vintage of Le Volte I've tasted. It shows much more structure than the wine usually does, and it comes across more Tuscan than Super-Tuscan with its less ripe, more savory flavors and a nice undercurrent of Sangiovese's sour cherry bitterness. The wine has started to develop some evolved qualities, but the overall feel is still relatively young and I can see this wine aging and improving from here. This wine was my favorite in our vertical tasting of seven Le Voltes, but it also got 5 points from the eleven participants, making it finish on shared second place. Recommended.
(92 points) - 2012 Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Le Volte Toscana IGT - Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT (3.10.2023)
A blend of Merlot (50%), Sangiovese (30%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (20%) harvested between early September and early October. The varieties were fermented separately in stainless steel tanks. Aged for 10 months in concrete tanks and 2-4 yo barriques that were previously used to age Ornellaia. 13,5% alcohol.
Moderately translucent and somewhat evolved brick-red or pale dried blood-red color. The nose feels fragrant, somewhat evolved and quite attractive with nuanced aromas of ripe black cherries, some wizened dark fruit tones, a little bit of juicy blackcurrant, light developed meaty tones, a sweet hint of blackberry marmalade and a touch of pouch tobacco. The wine feels silky and harmonious on the palate with an open-knit texture, a medium-to-moderately full body and layered flavors of juicy dark fruits, some licorice root, a little bit of blackcurrant marmalade, light savory notes of meaty umami and a hint of dried dark fruits. The structure relies mostly on the moderately high acidity, not that much on the ripe, supple and gentle medium-minus tannins. The finish is long, silky and gently grippy with a juicy, slightly sweet-toned aftertaste of wizened red fruits, some savory notes of meaty umami, a little bit of old leather, light blackcurrant nuances, a hint of developed pruney fruit and a touch of earth.
A tasty, harmonious and attractive vintage of Le Volte. I found this particular vintage quite enjoyable the last time I tasted it (some eight years ago!) and it seems the wine has evolved and improved a little further from there. I wouldn't say that the difference in quality is that remarkable, but in any case, this is a better wine now. Most likely at its plateau of maturity, too - the wine won't fall apart anytime soon, but I don't see any benefit for additional aging. Drink or keep. This has been priced according to its quality at approx. 22€. The wine got 13 points from the eleven participants in our tasting of seven Le Voltes, making it finish on first place.
(91 points) - 2020 Antinori Villa Antinori Toscana IGT - Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT (3.10.2023)
A blend of Sangiovese, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Petit Verdot, harvested between early September and mid-October. Fully destemmed, fermented and macerated with the skins for 8-12 days in stainless steel. Aged for 9 months in French and Hungarian barriques. 13,5% alcohol.
Youthful, deep and somewhat translucent cherry-red color with a faint purplish hue. The nose feels ripe, dark-toned and rather spicy with aromas of dark plums and sweet black cherries, some woody tones, a little bit of alcohol, light blueberry nuances, a hint of cranberry sauce and a touch of sweet toasty spice. The wine feels ripe, juicy and somewhat sweetly-fruited with flavors of soft dark plums, some sour cherry tones, a little bit of chocolatey mocha oak, light ferrous notes of blood, a hint of extracted woody bitterness and a touch of blueberry. The structure relies mostly on the high acidity, but the ripe, gently grippy tannins bring some firmness to the palate. The finish is juicy, somewhat warm and gently grippy with a moderately long aftertaste of gravelly mineral tones, some dark plummy notes, a little bit of sour cherry bitterness, light toasty oak nuances, a hint of blueberry and a touch of milk chocolate.
A surprisingly polished, toasty and anonymous red. The overall balance and sense of structure is pretty much on point here, but aromatically this is just toasty and, honestly, quite boring. I've never been a big fan of Ornellaia's Le Volte, but as this wine was in our Le Volte vertical as a contrasting contender, I found Le Volte much more balanced and characterful in comparison. Not this nor Le Volte didn't seem particularly Tuscan in their overall character (unsurprising, seeing as both of these wines are composed mainly of international varieties), but I still felt Le Volte seemed stylistically more Tuscan when compared to this Villa Antinori, which seemed like a more or less generic red wine. Although the wine is still young and most probably will continue to evolve and improve over the next handful of years, I doubt this will become anything interesting with any amount of aging. Feels overpriced for its quality at 20,50€. Not my cuppa.
(85 points) - 2020 Luce della Vite Lucente - Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT (3.10.2023)
A blend of Merlot (75%) and Sangiovese (25%). Harvested on 3rd of September (Merlot) and 18th of September (Sangiovese). Fermented and macerated on the skins in stainless steel tanks for three weeks. Aged in partly new barriques for 12 months, bottled in July 2022. 14% alcohol, 5,94 g/l acidity and pH 3,53.
Youthful, moderately translucent and luminous ruby-red color. The nose feels ripe, dark-toned and sweetly-fruited with aromas of cherry marmalade, some sweet notes of toasty mocha oak, a little bit of juicy dark plum, light boozy notes of alcohol, a hint of vanilla, a touch of strawberry and a whiff of blackberry jam. The wine feels silky, toasty and quite sweet-toned on the palate with a full body and quite lush flavors of strawberry jam and sweet, toasty oak spice, some strawberry tones, a little bit of chocolatey mocha oak, light vanilla nuances, a hint of sour cherry bitterness and a touch of blackberry jam. Although the overall feel is quite firm with the moderately high acidity and somewhat grippy medium-plus tannins, the wine still comes across as a lush crowdpleaser of a wine. The finish is rich, sweetly-fruited and slightly grippy with a dark-toned aftertaste of toasty oak spice, some strawberry tones, a little bit of toasty mocha oak, light plummy nuances, a hint of sour cherry bitterness and a touch of vanilla.
Ugh, this is just way too glossy and gloopy modernist crowdpleaser of a wine for my taste. After a vertical of more modest Ornellaia Le Volte wines, this wine feels like someone cranked up the ripeness and oak dials - to me, this wine is all about sweet, borderline overripe fruit and rather dominant toasty oak character. While technically a sound wine, I find it very hard to get excited about it. No doubt this wine is still way too young for its own good, but I suspect that no amount of aging will make this wine feel particularly interesting, complex or balanced. This simply represents stylistic choices I don't understand. Waste of money at 32,99€.
(83 points) - 2020 Ca' Marcanda (Gaja) Promis Toscana IGT - Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT (3.10.2023)
A blend of Merlot (55%), Syrah (35%) and Sangiovese (10%). Aged in French oak barriques for 12 monts. 14,5% alcohol.
Luminous, moderately translucent blood-red color. The nose feels somewhat dull - maybe a tiny bit reductive - with ripe and somewhat glossy aromas of ripe red cherries and raspberries, some blackcurrant tones, a little bit of black cherry marmalade, light toasty oak nuances, a hint of jammy red plums and a touch of smoke. The wine feels big, ripe and fruit-driven on the palate with a full body and quite lush flavors of soft, sweet black cherries, some toasty mocha oak, a little bit of strawberry, light cassis nuances, a hint of ripe red plum and a touch of sour cherry bitterness. The soft medium acidity feels very much inadequate for a wine this big and ripe - fortunately the ample, ripe and slowly grippy tannins bring some welcome firmness to the palate. The finish is ripe, sweet-toned and moderately grippy with a long, lush aftertaste of blackcurrant jam, some toasty notes of sweet oak spice, a little bit of ripe black cherry, light woody nuances, a hint of cocoa and a touch of sweet red plum.
After the lush, soft crowdpleaser 2020 Lucente I expected this wine to perform at least a bit better. Well, I guess my expectations were somewhat unfounded. This wine felt a little less polished and glossy and it had more tannic structure, but at the same time the wine was even higher in alcohol and lower in acidity, making it feel even more ponderous in comparison. It's hard to say which wine was better - maybe this Promis by a hair's breadth - but both were utterly uninteresting and disappointing. Not just my kind of wines at all. Heavily overpriced for its quality at 57,50€.
(84 points) - 2018 Campo al Pero Bolgheri - Italy, Tuscany, Bolgheri (3.10.2023)
A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (60%), Merlot (30%) and Cabernet Franc (10%). Fermented and macerated on the skins in stainless steel tanks for two weeks. Aged in barriques, tonneaux and botti casks for 12 months. 14,5% alcohol, 5,8 g/l acidity.
Deep, dark and moderately opaque blackish-red color with a slightly evolved rusty hue. The brooding nose feels quite dark-toned with slightly sweetish aromas of cassis-driven dark fruit, some leafy Cab tones, a little bit of sweet black cherry, light mulchy earth notes, a hint of juicy dark forest fruits and an evolved touch of wizened plums. The wine feels ripe and broad yet pretty firm and savory on the palate with a full body and bold flavors of soft dark plums and sweet black cherries, some balsamic tones, a little bit of developed pruney fruit, light leafy cab tones, a hint of savory wood spice and a touch of fresh blackcurrant. The structure relies more on the moderately grippy and somewhat extracted tannins than on the slightly round medium-plus acidity. The finish is ripe, juicy and moderately grippy with a long, slightly sweet-toned aftertaste of soft black cherries, some pruney tones, a little bit of leafy cab character, light savory notes of meaty umami, a hint of blackcurrant marmalade and a touch of woody oak spice.
This wine was perhaps a bit fat, heavy and ripe for its own good, but the overall style was still quite nice and almost, if not quite, balanced. The fruit profile wasn't too glossy and polished and the oak use seemed pretty judicious - only the fruit department seemed to suffer a bit from the hot, solar vintage, resulting in a somewhat sweet and soft overall profile. I guess this could be a nice faux-Bordeaux in a cooler vintage. Priced somewhat according to its quality at 26,62€.
(88 points)
Posted from CellarTracker