2011 Orma Toscana Rosso IGT 750 ml

Outpointing the "AIAs": Bolgheri's Newest 97-Point Star

Soon after leaving University of Wisconsin’s School of Journalism, James Suckling moved back west in pursuit of a newspaper career. He responded to an advertisement from a brand-new magazine called Wine Spectator based in San Diego with 800 subscribers. Suckling was hired by Marvin Shanken in 1981, and, at the age of just 25, soon found himself participating at blind tastings in Bordeaux, seated next to the likes of Russian-born entrepreneur and proprietor Alexis Lichine.

In 1985, Suckling was sent overseas by Wine Spectator, charged with starting up the magazine’s European bureau. Over the following 25 years, Suckling reviewed tens of thousands wines, and became, along with Robert Parker, one of the most influential critics in the world. While James’s initial focus was on Bordeaux, over the years he developed a still-deeper appreciation for the wines of Tuscany — and even more specifically, the fabulously rich and succulent Cabernet Sauvignons and Cabernet/Sangiovese blends of the Antinori family’s Solaia and Ornellaia and Incisa della Rocchetta’s Sassicaia.

From 2000-2010, Wine Spectator published Suckling’s rave reviews of Ornellaias from 2001 (100 points), 2004 and 2006 (both 98 points), and the back-to-back 97-point 2005 and 2006 Solaias. But then, in an article about the wonderfully warm and ultra-ripe Bolgheri vintage of 2011, Suckling threw Tuscan collectors an unexpected curveball. Ornellaia’s neighbor, Antonio Moretti’s tiny “Orma,” earned 97 points, outpointing all of the “AIAs!”

Moretti’s 12-acre jewel is located in Castagneto Carducci just 5 miles from the Tuscan coast, where, like Ornellaia, its Bordeaux-variety vineyards are bathed in brilliant summer sunshine, while cooled and cleansed by stiff sea breezes. The soils are poor, made up primarily of sand and pebbles, much accounting for the richness, refinement, and Médoc-like elegance of Bolgheri’s newest superstar red. In 2011, a particularly hot summer on the coast where Ornellaia, Sassicaia, and Solaia turned out deep, dark, supple wines, Orma shined brighter than ever before, making for this wildly concentrated, ultra-polished classic blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc.

The 2011 Orma is saturated purple to the edge. Seductive aromas of crushed black fruits, sweet spice, and mint, with a hint of new-wood cedar. Dense, polished, and suave on the attack, filled with a gobs of black-fruit preserves, ripe cherry, violets, and espresso bean. Hugely concentrated and pliant due to the warm summer conditions, yet still high-toned and light on its feet, finishing with soft tannins that seem to stiffen a couple hours after decanting, arguing gracefully for 10-15 years of cellar slumber.

$85 on release. A tad over HALF-PRICE today exclusively on WineAccess — as Orma outpoints the “AIAs” in Bolgheri. Shipping included on 4. The last 300 bottles of our allocation are up for grabs!