2017 ornellaia, bianco, toscana

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Why We're Buying

Ornellaia is the heart and soul of Italian wine. It consistently places on Wine Spectator's Top 100 list and ranks among the region's highest-priced wines. With an elegant bouquet of fruit aromas and a crisp finish, it's easy to see why this blend of sauvignon blanc and viognier appreciated 19.2 from 2017 to 2021.

Critics Scores

Jeb Dunnuck

The 2017 Ornellaia Bianco is a slightly tweaked blend compared to the 2016 and includes a splash of Viognier. The blend is 91 Sauvignon Blanc and 9 Viognier, which is a combination you don't see often, yet it makes sense, and the Viognier plays the role of Semillon seen in Bordeaux Blanc releases. Coming from a dry, hot year, it has a beautiful bouquet of Meyer lemons, honeysuckle, flowers, and hints of barrique. This carries to a seamless, full-bodied white that's flawlessly balanced, has a bright core of acidity, ample mid-palate depth, and a great finish. It's one seriously classy white I'd be thrilled to drink any time over the coming 4-5 years.

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The previous vintage of this wine was made soley with Sauvignon Blanc, but as expected, the Ornellaia 2017 Ornellaia Bianco sees a small percentage of Viognier added to the blend. The exact percentage of the two components is 91 Sauvignon Blanc and 9 Viognier. If you are a fan of these grape varieties, as I am, this wine will appeal to all your basic pleasure points. Showing medium rich concentration and a creamy textural fiber, it reveals some of the weight that we associated with this hot and dry vintage. However, any trace of over-ripeness is mitigated by the cool soils that, in this case, consist of deep calcarious clay broken up by rocks at a breezy 80 to 100 meters above sea level. This consistency is perfect for locking in moisture even in drought vintages. The wine is fermented in oak, but no malolactic fermentation occurs, and the wine instead rests on the fine lees with frequent stirring. Orchard fruits and Cavaillon melon give the wine a sturdy center of gravity.