The entire life of Ornellaia Bianco

We tasted the 7 vintages released so far on the market of Ornellaia's white wine, a very interesting and informative vertical that highlighted the path this wine is taking. 

1. great commercial success, the wine is virtually unobtainable, and the small number of bottles (5,000 of the 2013 vintage, 8,000 for 2017) creates some speculation by those who manage to get it.
2. demonstrated that a Bolgheri white can have the same commercial positioning as the company's flagship wine.
3. prompted the Consortium to create the Bolgheri Bianco DOC to give a better perception to this category of wines in the area.

These are major achievements for a 7-year-old. 

The tasting started with the first vintage produced, 2013, and went on to a preview of 2019. Ornellaia Bianco is based on a blend of always majority Sauvignon, with a more or less important balance of Viognier and small and occasional intrusions of other varietals. All highly variable depending on the vintage. 

A wine that is still experimental in some of its forms, as well as in the choice of woods, which has seen the use of barrels alternating variously between new and used (maximum of one and a half years) depending both on the vintages, and on the final blends made, and on the often small quantities deemed suitable for this wine. I recall that only a small portion of what is possible goes into Ornellaia Bianco. 

All this reminds me of the path of the Lamborghini Miura, a legendary motor vehicle, which, thanks to road experimentation done by customers, improved its quality so much. We are happy that DoctorWine is included in this route. 

At the end of the article you have the tasting of the individual wines (click on the names to open the tabs), but I think some general reflections born during the comparison of the vintages, which are very different from each other as climatic trends, are important. 

First reflection, Ornellaia Bianco has its own personality that totally differentiates it from the company's other white wine, Poggio alle Gazze, born in the late 1980s. Second, Ornellaia Bianco has as a reference the Bordeaux area with its whites and this is also evident by correlating more and more Bolgheri as the Italian way to Bordeaux. Third, although a minority, it is clear that the dosage of Viognier in the blend greatly influences the character of the wine especially in aging, the other varietals serve precisely to address and enhance this relationship between Sauvignon and Viognier that remains difficult and therefore compelling and challenging (the easy way would be to lift it as occurred on a few occasions but then the challenge would lose bite). Fourth, the contribution of wood: in the project it is central. Only in a vintage like 2016 is it a bit intrusive, in all the others it is always well dosed and contributes positively to the personality of the wine without overpowering the personality of the grape varieties used. 

In the coming years, the growth in the masses available for Ornellaia Bianco will allow greater flexibility in the use of wood, both in terms of provenance and container size. The 2018 and 2019 vintages although very different are definitely interesting with two different approaches that will remain important and solid references for the future of this wine. 

The tasting took place in Milan's Cracco restaurant, which created a menu perfect for pairing the various vintages. Among the unforgettable dishes: the classic crispy Russian salad and the debut of an absolutely fantastic crusted char. 

Prices of Ornellaia Bianco in wine shops are highly variable due to speculation due to low production; in theory it should cost no more than Ornellaia Rosso, around 200 euros, but it is difficult to find it for less than 250 euros.

• Ornellaia Bianco 2013
• Ornellaia Bianco 2014
• Ornellaia Bianco 2015
• Ornellaia Bianco 2016
• Ornellaia Bianco 2017
• Ornellaia Bianco 2018
• Ornellaia Bianco 2019

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