2012 Ornellaia

When I was invited to join a Tuscan-themed dinner in the private room at 67 Pall Mall, I eagerly accepted. I wanted to reacquaint myself with its wines and placate my palate, which was protesting that it wanted to taste anything other than Cabernet or Pinot Noir. The bottles were deeply impressive and showcased Tuscany at its best.

It's always a pleasure to visit Ornellaia and taste with Axel Heinz. A native of Bordeaux, where he still maintains deep roots, Heinz is now one of the world's most in-demand winemakers. Not surprisingly, Heinz has recently been promoted to Estate Manager, with full control of vineyard and winemaking operations. Heinz describes 2013 as a cool year that was the latest-ripening vintage on record at Ornellaia, although it was surpassed the very next year. Flowering took a full two weeks as opposed to the 4-5 days that is more typical here. Rain in spring and early summer delayed ripening, but heat returned in July. Rain provided the booked to the end of the Cabernet Sauvignon growing season. So far, the 2013s I have tasted are aromatically expressive, lithe and refined, as one would expect. Things were quite different in 2012. Like the preceding vintage, 2012 was very warm and dry to the point of pushing the vines into stress, but a cooling trend in September restored balance. Rain just before harvest