✒ Il Vigore – Ornellaia 2019
At a time when the world seems quite dark, with the airwaves full of news of aggressions, Covid, storms and destruction, tuning into to hear which artist had been chosen for the latest Vendemmia d’Artista project for Ornellaia was a small but quite welcome respite. The chance to step away into the world of beauty and philanthropy is a welcome reminder to rejoice in what’s still good.
The Ornellaia Vendemmia d’Artista project commenced in May 2009 with the release of the 2016 vintage of Ornellaia, and since then has donated more than 2 million US dollars to art charity. Each year, an artist creates a piece of art inspired by a word chosen by the winemaker to describe the character of the vintage. This year the chosen artists are Nathalie Djurberg and Hans Berg, famed for their mixed-media works. The word given to them by Estate Director Axel Heinz was “Il Vigore” (vigour). The 2019 vintage conditions had provided the word’s inspiration. Axel Heinz described the clear division between the Spring, cold and rainy with a sluggish start, followed by a super-hot summer, resulting in a short vintage which was completed one and a half weeks earlier than usual.
Following their commission, the artists visited the estate and designed striking labels that featured a finger making a print on the earth for the 750ml and 3-litre labels, and elaborate sculptures for the 6-litre and 9-litre formats. This edition of the Ornellaia Vendemmia d’Artista series will see 100 double magnums, ten Imperials (3-litres) and one Salmanazar (9-litre) produced. While the smaller bottles and magnums will be sold via the trade, the Imperials and Salmanazar will be auctioned by Sotheby’s online between 5th and 10th October 2022. The profits from the sale will benefit the Solomon R Guggenheim Foundation, supporting the innovative Mind’s Eye programme, which creates the possibility for blind and low-vision people to discover contemporary art by using other senses.
The wine is brilliant deep garnet in colour, with a bouquet of balsamic black fruit, uplifted menthol notes and wild herbs, providing a wonderful sense of freshness on the nose. The vigour on the palate is more of energy than sheer strength; this is one of the freshest vintages of Ornellaia I have tasted. There is a savoury, juicy quality to the crunchy black fruit, an intense depth of flavour, wild herbs, cedar; the tannins are refined and firm – all the wine’s power and energy is beautifully controlled. It is suave and moreish, which makes it drinkable now, but promises a great future as well.
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