Antinori Badia a Passignano Chianti Classico Gran Selezione
Antinori's single-vineyard Gran Selezione: 100% Sangiovese grown around the abbey of Passignano, aged in French and Hungarian oak. Firm, fine tannins and bright acidity frame ripe cherry, violet and leather. Built to cellar, made for red meat.
Ornellaia is the flagship Bolgheri Superiore from the Frescobaldi estate at Castagneto Carducci: Cabernet Sauvignon leads Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Around 18 months in barrique gives black fruit, tobacco and a powerful tannic frame.
8winesBest price2023 · 75cl · checked 22 Oct · Delivery charged at checkoutCode NEWCUST8J: Enter NEWCUST8J to get £8 off with the minimum wine order of £88. Valid only for new customers, until 31 Dec 2027
Read from the retailer's page once a day. Confidence is low, so treat it as a guide and confirm at the retailer.
VinissimusBest price2022 · 75cl · checked 22 Oct · Delivery charges may apply
Out of stock
£222.00£296.00/L
Out of stock
Corney & BarrowBest price2006 · Case of 6 · £1,402.96 for the case · checked 20 Oct · Free delivery
Out of stock
£233.83a bottle · £311.77/L
Out of stock
8winesBest price2022 · 75cl · checked 20 Oct · Delivery charged at checkoutCode NEWCUST8J: Enter NEWCUST8J to get £8 off with the minimum wine order of £88. Valid only for new customers, until 31 Dec 2027
Stock status is read from each retailer’s page once a day and may lag. Case and magnum listings show a per-bottle or per-litre equivalent and sit outside the best-price figure.
Tasting Notes
What Ornellaia Bolgheri Superiore tastes like
Black fruit, tobacco and vanilla over a powerful tannic frame, from a Cabernet-led blend and up to 70 per cent new barrique.
Tasted by
ItalianWines editorial
Tasted on
6 June 2026
Vintage in glass
2022
Source
Drinker consensus · confidence Medium
Typical of Cabernet Sauvignon
BodyLight / Full
TanninsSmooth / Grippy
SweetnessDry / Sweet
AciditySoft / Crisp
Nose
Ornellaia leads with a deep, expressive bouquet of black fruit. The blackberry and cassis of its Cabernet-led blend are lifted by vanilla and tobacco. Both the vanilla and the tobacco come from up to 70 per cent new barrique. Tobacco, cassis and a warm oak-spice note sit in front, rather than primary fruit alone. The aromatics widen with air. They gain the cedar and dried-herb edge typical of mature Bolgheri.
Blackberry
Blackcurrant
Plum
Tobacco
Leather
Oak
Black pepper
Vanilla
Chocolate
Palate
On the palate the wine is expansive and generous, the Frescobaldi estate's own words for it. The 14.5 per cent alcohol carries ripe plum, blackcurrant and dark chocolate. A powerful tannic structure sits at the centre. Around 18 months in oak polishes that structure, yet it is still firm enough to demand food or cellar time. Leather, smoke and liquorice are the savoury counterweight to the fruit.
Finish
The close is long, savoury and enduring. The marine-alluvial soils of Castagneto Carducci leave a graphite and dried-tobacco trail. Oak-derived spice lingers behind the fruit rather than dominating it.
Overall
This is the flagship Bolgheri Superiore from the Ornellaia estate, and one of Tuscany's benchmark Super Tuscans as well. Drinkers like it, year after year, and critic scores run in the 94 to 98 range. Wine Advocate gave the 2016 a 98. It rewards a decade or more of cellaring. Open it now only with a decanter and a substantial meat dish.
Live UK pricing
Buying Ornellaia: vintages and prices
Recent 750ml bottles from this Castagneto Carducci estate start around 200 pounds, with mature and magnum formats commanding more.
Best price · 75 cl£174.00at Berry Bros. & Rudd
Price spread · 75cl
£174.00 - £400.00 Across 10 UK retailers with 75cl in stock
Per-litre (75cl basis)£232.00Lowest current 75cl offer
Last checked22 Oct 2026Refreshed once every 24 hours
Other formats: 13 price lines
Half bottle 37.5cl · 2023:
£125.00,
1 UK retailer
Case of 6 · 2017:
£167.98 per bottle,
1 UK retailer
Magnum 150cl · 1993:
£950.00,
1 UK retailer
Magnum 150cl · 2019:
£386.00,
1 UK retailer
Magnum 150cl · 2020:
£428.00,
1 UK retailer
Magnum 150cl · 2023:
£430.00 - £500.00,
2 UK retailers
Double magnum 300cl · 2001:
£1,515.00,
1 UK retailer
Double magnum 300cl · 2012:
£765.36,
1 UK retailer
Double magnum 300cl · 2014:
£766.55,
1 UK retailer
Double magnum 300cl · 2017:
£917.00,
1 UK retailer
Double magnum 300cl · 2021:
£917.00,
1 UK retailer
Double magnum 300cl · 2022:
£1,006.00,
1 UK retailer
Double magnum 300cl · 2023:
£1,000.00,
1 UK retailer
Wine fit score
How Ornellaia scores for food, cellar and occasion
A structured, prestige Bolgheri Superiore that scores high for cellaring and special occasions and low for everyday value.
Best for an occasion9.5/10
A benchmark Super Tuscan with critic scores in the mid-90s and clear prestige, made for milestone meals and gifting.
Best for cellar9.2/10
Bolgheri Superiore mandates 24 months ageing with 12 in oak, and the firm tannin and 14.5 per cent alcohol carry the wine a decade or more.
Best with food7.8/10
A full-bodied, Cabernet-led red with firm tannin pairs powerfully with grilled and braised red meat, though lower acidity than Sangiovese makes it less of an all-rounder.
Best value3.8/10
At roughly 199 pounds the lowest live price sits well above the Bolgheri Superiore category median, fair for the prestige but a premium outlay.
Best intro to this style3.0/10
An oaky, structured international Bordeaux blend rather than a classic indigenous-grape introduction, and the price puts it beyond a first Italian red.
Best everyday bottle0.8/10
Far too structured and expensive for casual midweek drinking, the inverse of its strong cellar profile plus a steep price penalty.
From the warm, elegant 2022 to mature bottles back to 1996, each Bolgheri Superiore release reflects its growing season on the Tuscan coast.
2023Current release
Best price
£174.00
Retailers
11 in stock
Window
Ready from 2028
to 2043
A well-received recent release; Jane Anson awarded the 2023 a top score. Tightly wound on release, it needs several years before its Cabernet tannins unwind.
2022Previous release
Best price
£221.17
Retailers
3 in stock
ABV
14.5%
Window
Ready from 2027
to 2042
A hot, dry growing season on the Bolgheri coast, yet the estate describes the 2022 as marked by elegance and vibrancy with a powerful tannic frame. Best from 2027 onward.
2021Previous release
Best price
£917.00double magnum
Retailers
1 in stock
Window
Drink now
through 2041
A classic, balanced Bolgheri season giving a fresh, age-worthy Ornellaia. Tannins are still youthful; give it cellar time toward the end of the decade.
2020Previous release
Best price
£245.00
Retailers
2 in stock
2020Previous release
Best price
£245.00
Retailers
2 in stock
2021Previous release
Best price
£917.00double magnum
Retailers
1 in stock
Window
Drink now
through 2041
A classic, balanced Bolgheri season giving a fresh, age-worthy Ornellaia. Tannins are still youthful; give it cellar time toward the end of the decade.
2022Previous release
Best price
£221.17
Retailers
3 in stock
ABV
14.5%
Window
Ready from 2027
to 2042
A hot, dry growing season on the Bolgheri coast, yet the estate describes the 2022 as marked by elegance and vibrancy with a powerful tannic frame. Best from 2027 onward.
2023Current release
Best price
£174.00
Retailers
11 in stock
Window
Ready from 2028
to 2043
A well-received recent release; Jane Anson awarded the 2023 a top score. Tightly wound on release, it needs several years before its Cabernet tannins unwind.
Drink-now / hold guidance reflects general style cues for this wine, not a forecast for a specific bottle. Where vintage-level editorial notes exist, they appear above.
The disciplinare, the place, the label
Why Ornellaia sits among the top Super Tuscans
A Frescobaldi estate with critic scores in the 94 to 98 range, Wine Advocate rating the 2016 a 98, and a Vendemmia d'Artista label project each year.
01
DOC, DOCG, IGT: what the badges mean
Italian wine law sorts bottles into a pyramid. DOCG sits at the top: tightly drawn boundaries, prescribed grapes, mandatory ageing, government tasting before release. DOC is the same idea with looser thresholds. IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) is broader still, requiring only that 85% of the grapes come from the named territory.
Bolgheri is in the DOC tier. That is not a quality verdict, it is a description of how much freedom the producer has at vinification and ageing.
02
The denomination rules, in detail
Allowed grapes. 5 varieties listed in the disciplinare
Yield ceiling. 9.0 tonnes per hectare
Minimum ABV. 11.5% vol
Minimum ageing. No statutory minimum - producers release on their own schedule
Cabernet Sauvignon · Merlot · Cabernet Franc · Petit VerdotGrape varieties
Bolgheri DOCGeographic indication and quality tier
2023Vintage (year of harvest)
75 clBottle size
Imbottigliato all’origineEstate-bottled
05
What sits behind the price of Ornellaia Bolgheri Superiore
Tracked from
£174.00
Direction
Mostly cost up
Drivers
5 up / 1 down
Main factor
Estate prestige and demand at Castagneto Carducci
01
Estate prestige and demand at Castagneto Carducci
Cost up
Ornellaia is a benchmark Super Tuscan from the Frescobaldi estate, and drinkers everywhere like it. That global demand is the biggest single lever pushing the UK price past 200 pounds.
02
Up to 70 per cent new French barrique for around 18 months
Cost up
The wine ages roughly 18 months in barrique with up to 70 per cent new oak, then a further year in bottle. That barrel and cellar programme is far costlier than entry-level Bolgheri.
03
Low-yield Cabernet-led blend, manual harvest
Cost up
Bolgheri Superiore caps yields at about 9 tonnes per hectare and the fruit is hand-picked and parcel-selected from sites such as Bellaria and Pero, concentrating cost into every bottle.
04
Long mandated ageing before release
Cost up
Bolgheri Superiore requires at least 24 months ageing with 12 in oak, tying up capital and cellar space for years before the wine can be sold.
05
UK alcohol duty and VAT
Cost up
At the 2026 still-wine rate of 2.67 pounds duty plus 20 per cent VAT, well over 35 pounds of a roughly 200-pound bottle is UK tax rather than wine.
06
Wide UK availability of recent vintages
Cost down
Several UK merchants list the 2022 and 2023 alongside back vintages, so competition between retailers keeps the standard 750ml from drifting even higher.
01
Estate prestige and demand at Castagneto Carducci
Cost up
Ornellaia is a benchmark Super Tuscan from the Frescobaldi estate, and drinkers everywhere like it. That global demand is the biggest single lever pushing the UK price past 200 pounds.
02
Up to 70 per cent new French barrique for around 18 months
Cost up
The wine ages roughly 18 months in barrique with up to 70 per cent new oak, then a further year in bottle. That barrel and cellar programme is far costlier than entry-level Bolgheri.
03
Low-yield Cabernet-led blend, manual harvest
Cost up
Bolgheri Superiore caps yields at about 9 tonnes per hectare and the fruit is hand-picked and parcel-selected from sites such as Bellaria and Pero, concentrating cost into every bottle.
04
Long mandated ageing before release
Cost up
Bolgheri Superiore requires at least 24 months ageing with 12 in oak, tying up capital and cellar space for years before the wine can be sold.
05
UK alcohol duty and VAT
Cost up
At the 2026 still-wine rate of 2.67 pounds duty plus 20 per cent VAT, well over 35 pounds of a roughly 200-pound bottle is UK tax rather than wine.
06
Wide UK availability of recent vintages
Cost down
Several UK merchants list the 2022 and 2023 alongside back vintages, so competition between retailers keeps the standard 750ml from drifting even higher.
Food Pairing
Cabernet tannin and Tuscan beef: what fits Ornellaia
Its firm tannin and 14.5 per cent alcohol want fat and char, from Fiorentina steak to braised veal and aged Pecorino.
Tannin softeningStrong match
Charred Tuscan beef
Ornellaia's powerful Cabernet-led tannins need fat and char to soften. A rare Fiorentina steak coats the palate so the firm structure reads as polish rather than grip, while the wine's blackcurrant fruit answers the seared crust.
Try with: Fiorentina steak · Brasato al Barolo · Tagliata · More pairings →
Fat cuttingStrong match
Slow-braised veal and pork
The 14.5 per cent alcohol and savoury tannin cut through gelatinous braised meat. Ossobuco alla Milanese and Porceddu carry enough richness to meet the wine's body, and its tobacco and leather notes echo the slow-cooked depth.
Try with: Ossobuco alla Milanese · Porceddu · Porchetta · More pairings →
Aromatic bridgeGood match
Truffle and forest-floor dishes
Mature Bolgheri develops cedar and dried-herb aromatics that bridge to earthy white truffle. Truffle risotto and Tajarin al Tartufo meet the wine's tertiary side without fighting its oak.
Try with: Truffle risotto · Tajarin al Tartufo · Tagliatelle al tartufo · More pairings →
Salt balanceGood match
Aged hard pecorino
A mature Pecorino Sardo brings salt and crystalline texture that lift the wine's dark fruit and tame its grip. The cheese's nutty depth matches the wine's chocolate and oak-spice notes.
Try with: Pecorino sardo e pan carasau · aged Pecorino Toscano · Caciocavallo · More pairings →
Body matchingGood match
Rich baked pasta
Layered ragu has the weight to stand up to a full-bodied Bolgheri Superiore. Lasagna and baked anelletti match the wine's body while their tomato and meat give the tannins something to grip.
Try with: Lasagna · Anelletti al forno · Pappardelle al cinghiale · More pairings →
AvoidClash
Avoid chilli heat and delicate fish
The 14.5 per cent alcohol and assertive new-oak tannin amplify chilli burn and bury delicate flavours. Spicy or sweet-sour dishes and lean white fish leave the wine tasting hot and bitter rather than refined.
Bolgheri Superiore mandates 24 months ageing with 12 in oak, and a strong Ornellaia vintage rewards 15 to 25 years in the cellar.
Drinking window
2028 → 2043
Best in the years above; holds without falling over either side.
Decanting
1 hour
A short splash decant softens the first-pour edge and opens the aromatics.
Serving temperature
16-18°C
Aim for the cooler end on a warm day; warmer end opens up more aromatics.
Cellar potential
High
Bolgheri Superiore mandates 24 months ageing with 12 in oak, and the firm tannin and 14.5 per cent alcohol carry the wine a decade or more.
Buy now or wait?
Buy now
£174.00 for a 75cl bottle of the 2023, at Berry Bros. & Rudd, is the best price we track, and we have no signal of further discounting.
Sources & trust
Where these Ornellaia facts come from
Prices & stock
Read directly from each retailer’s public product page once a day.
Last refresh: 22 Oct 2026, 01:46 BST.
We do not hold stock and we do not accept payment for placement.
Confidence · High
Tasting notes
Drawn from published drinker ratings, summarised in our own words. A crowd read across many tasters, not a single critic.
Confidence · Medium
Appellation rules & ageing
From the official Italian disciplinare for this denomination, cross-checked against the Ministry of Agriculture register.
Confidence · High
Why it costs what it costs
Our reading of the price, drawn from the disciplinare, public UK duty rates, and typical landed-cost benchmarks. Not a quote from the producer or a retailer.
Confidence · Medium
Drink window & cellar potential
Style guidance for this kind of wine at this price point. Treat it as advice, not a forecast for the bottle in your hand.
Confidence · Medium
Related
Explore Bolgheri, Cabernet Sauvignon and the Ornellaia estate
It is a Bordeaux-style blend led by Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The exact proportions shift each vintage; the 2022 was roughly 55 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon, 25 per cent Merlot, 10 per cent Cabernet Franc and 10 per cent Petit Verdot.
Yes. Ornellaia is one of the benchmark Super Tuscans, made at Castagneto Carducci in the Bolgheri zone of coastal Tuscany. It uses international grapes rather than the traditional Sangiovese, and is bottled as Bolgheri Superiore DOC.
Comfortably 15 to 25 years for a strong vintage. Bolgheri Superiore requires at least 24 months ageing with 12 in oak, and Ornellaia's firm tannin and concentration reward a decade or more in the cellar.
Rich red meat is the natural match. Fiorentina steak, Ossobuco alla Milanese, Brasato al Barolo, truffle risotto and aged Pecorino all stand up to its full body and tannin. Avoid chilli heat and delicate white fish.
Recent vintages of the standard 750ml bottle typically run from around 200 pounds upward, with mature and large-format bottles costing more. Pricing reflects its status among the most sought-after wines of Bolgheri.
Around 14.5 per cent for recent vintages such as the 2022, reflecting the ripe, warm-climate fruit of coastal Bolgheri.
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Prices and stock are read from each retailer’s public product page once a day. Outbound buy links carry rel="nofollow sponsored noopener". The list is sorted by price; we do not accept payment for placement.
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