Ornellaia Vendemmia d’Artista 2019 label revealed
Ornellaia has revealed the Vendemmia d’Artista label for its 2019 vintage flagship wine.
First introduced with the 2006 vintage in 2009, the Vendemmia d’Artista series commissions different artists each year to capture the character of the vintage in limited edition sculptures and labels.
This 14th edition of the Ornellaia Vendemmia d’Artista series will see 100 double magnums, 10 imperials and one salmanazar sold to raise money for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, which plans to expand its Mind’s Eye initiative – a programme that enables the visually impaired to experience art both physically and virtually through innovative workshops and learning tools.
During a slick virtual event broadcast online from the estate’s winery in Bolgheri, Ornellaia 2019’s personality was revealed to be ‘Il Vigore’ (vigour).
Estate director Axel Heinz explained that the 2019 vintage was one of the hottest summers of the last few years, describing it as ‘brutal’. Of the resulting wine, he said ‘it’s intense, it’s rich, it’s powerful’ and the word ‘vigour’ was chosen to reflect the vintage’s ‘strength, power and transformational capacity’.
Artists Nathalie Djurberg and Hans Berg were commissioned by Ornellaia’s art curators, Maria Alicata (professor of Art History at the European Institute of Design in Rome) and Bartolomeo Pietromarchi (art director at the Maxxi Museum in Rome). ‘We selected them on the basis of the character [of the 2019 Ornellaia] that Axel sent to us,’ said Pietromarchi.
The theme of metamorphosis is represented on the labels of the 75cl and 3L bottles as a finger making an imprint in the earth. Unique sculptures on the 6L and 9L formats highlight ‘the hidden beauty that we seldom think about,’ according to Djurberg.
While many of the double magnums have already been sold to establishments in the wine trade, the remainder of the limited edition bottles will be sold via Sotheby’s between 5 and 19 October 2022.
Ornellaia 2019 will be released to the market on 1 April 2022. Each six-bottle case will feature one bottle with a Vendemmia d’Artista series label.
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Ornellaia, Bolgheri, Superiore, Tuscany, Italy, 2019
A structured, graceful wine; the Giuseppe Verdi of Bolgheri for its concentration, density and controlled power. Bramble fruit and eucalyptus flavours are completed by clove, a touch of rose and balsamic chocolate depth, supported by dense woven tannins. There's huge mid-palate extraction and lifted yet moderate acidity. The finish is soaked with cassis, a whiff of bell pepper and blond tobacco, giving an amazing aftertaste. Despite the more moderate acidity of the 2018, 2019 and 2020 vintages - as reported by managing director Axel Heinz - with a tendency towards more sweetness than freshness, I personally find the return to the traditional higher percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon (62% in 2019) a great option for Ornellaia.
2019
OrnellaiaBolgheri
