Monteverro - the best wine in Italy?

Monteverro has emerged as one of the most remarkable anomalies in the modern wine world. Founded in 2003 by German entrepreneur Georg Weber, the estate is located in Capalbio, in the southernmost corner of Tuscany’s Maremma. Historically, this specific sub-region was never considered a breeding ground for world-class, multi-layered fine wines. While nearby Bolgheri became famous for Super Tuscans, Capalbio was traditionally seen as a rustic coastal area better suited for everyday table wines. Achieving world-class status here seemed highly improbable, but Weber saw unique potential in its mineral-rich clay-limestone soils and the cooling sea breezes of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Through non-interventionist gravity-led winemaking and uncompromising attention to detail, Monteverro has completely rewritten the regional script.

Over the years, the Tastingbook panel has repeatedly observed Monteverro wines shining brightly and standing toe-to-toe with some of the world's most iconic labels in multiple tastings. To truly put this trajectory to the test, a definitive blind tasting was organized, pitting Monteverro's flagship red against the ultimate Italian benchmark and legend: Ornellaia.

Head-to-Head Blind Tasting Report: Monteverro vs. Ornellaia

A distinguished group of Tastingbook professionals gathered to evaluate seven critical vintages from both estates in a completely blind format. The lineup spanned over a decade of winemaking, showcasing the evolutionary arc of both properties.

The Vintage Matchups

The wines were tasted blindly side-by-side across the following years: 2011, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022.

The Final Standings & Results

While the final tally came as a massive surprise to many in the broader wine community, it simply confirmed what the core tasting team had suspected for years:

• Overall Score Winner: Monteverro edged out the historic icon to claim the highest cumulative score of the tasting.
• The 2011 Vintage: This was the single clear victory for the establishment. Ornellaia’s 2011 vintage was noticeably superior, showing more harmony and completeness than Monteverro's younger vine expression at the time.
• The 2015 to 2022 Vintages: Across all subsequent flights, Monteverro dominated the table. The wines were either perfectly dead-heated in quality or consistently scored one to two points higher than Ornellaia.
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A New King in Tuscany?

The results of this blind tasting left a profound impression on the panel. Witnessing how a winery founded only in 2003 has systematically elevated its quality year after year is staggering. In a relatively short span of time, Monteverro has reached a qualitative peak that forces a legitimate question onto the table: Is Monteverro the best wine in Italy?

If the estate's current momentum and uncompromising evolution continue on this exact path, that provocative question may soon become an undeniable fact.

Flight 1: The 2011 Vintage

• Ornellaia 2011 (96p): A triumphant expression of a warm, early-ripening year, this wine unfurls with opulent secondary characteristics of sweet tobacco, macerated plum, cedar, and an underlying hint of savory jamón. The palate is deeply integrated, delivering silkiness and sapid length braced by compact, elegant tannins and a beautifully persistent acidity that keeps the mature fruit core remarkably vibrant.
• Monteverro 2011 (94p): While showing admirable structural frame, this early vintage betrays the youth of the estate's vines at the time. The nose leans heavily into charred oak, dark cocoa, and dried herbs, leading into a dense, tightly wound palate that lacks the seamless harmony, effortless mid-palate flesh, and complex, lingering finish found in its historic opponent. 
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Flight 2: The 2015 Vintage

• Ornellaia 2015 (95p): Widely considered a jewel from a "perfect vintage," this bottle is an exercise in pure elegance and restraint rather than heavy opulence. It displays a brilliant perfume of fresh blackberries, violet, and graphite, transitioning seamlessly to a medium-to-full-bodied palate. The overall texture possesses an almost ethereal quality, highlighted by fabulous balance and persistent length. 
• Monteverro 2015 (96p): A breathtaking performance that narrowly edges out the legend with its sheer energy and depth of fruit. It explodes from the glass with layers of blackcurrant paste, crushed mint, espresso bean, and Mediterranean scrub. The palate is broad-shouldered yet remarkably nimble, packing velvety, fine-grained tannins that frame a sweet, deeply resonant fruit core before finishing with phenomenal mineral drive. 
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Flight 3: The 2016 Vintage

• Ornellaia 2016 (97p): A classic, slow-evolving powerhouse that reflects a magnificent, balanced growing season. It presents a highly refined nose of cassis, black tea, sandalwood, and shaved pencil shavings. The mouthfeel is tightly coiled and athletic, showing structural nobility with dense, chalky tannins and a sharp acid line that guarantees decades of graceful cellar aging.
• Monteverro 2016 (98p): A flawless liquid map of a perfect Tuscan season where generous sun met cool coastal nights. It pours a deep, defiant ruby and introduces an enchanting bouquet reminiscent of a Tuscan forest after a light rain—wild raspberries, dried lavender, and cedar wood. The first sip reveals brilliant, athletic acidity and brushed-velvet tannins, giving way to sun-ripened olives and a persistent fruit sweetness that steals the show. 
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Flight 4: The 2019 Vintage

• Ornellaia 2019 (97p): Aptly nicknamed "Il Vigore," this vintage boasts an intense ruby-red color and a bouquet brimming with intriguing spicy and balsamic notes like black pepper, sage, and aromatic herbs. It is both full-bodied and vibrant in the mouth, coating the palate with a dense, elegant tannic texture. Nuances of Assam tea, toast, and licorice root mingle with a very pure, dark blackcurrant fruit core.
• Monteverro 2019 (97p): Displaying a stunning level of precision, this wine pairs an incredibly expressive, perfumed nose of violets, wild rosemary, and black cherry with a palate of majestic proportions. Cabernet Franc leads the charge here with striking exotic spice and graphite notes. The tannins are utterly seamless, creating a voluptuous yet chiseled texture that culminates in a refreshing, salt-tinged finish that lasts for minutes.
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Flight 5: The 2020 Vintage

• Ornellaia 2020 (96p): Celebrating a return to classic proportions, this blend shows a beautifully fragrant nose of black cherry, dark chocolate, cedar, and damp earth. Menthol and balsamic streaks run straight through the core, imparting excellent freshness. While it shows spectacular fine-grained integration and a stony, salty finish, it currently lacks a bit of mid-palate complexity, which will require cellar time to unlock.
• Monteverro 2020 (97p): An absolute showstopper that embraces the warmth of the vintage while retaining jaw-dropping coastal freshness. It delivers an immediate wave of black fig, blackberry reduction, and sweet wood smoke, balanced on the palate by intense, mouth-watering acidity. The tannins are monumental yet perfectly ripe, lending a lavish, velvety texture that feels more complete and multi-dimensional today than its Bolgheri rival. 
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Flight 6: The 2021 Vintage

• Ornellaia 2021 (97p): Released under the theme "La Generosità," this bottle showcases the best attributes of a dry, sunny Bolgheri summer. Signature notes of Mediterranean shrub, cypress berries, and classic blackberry unfurl effortlessly on the nose. The palate is highly concentrated and deeply expressive, striking a fine balance between a dense wall of structural tannins and a vibrant, enduringly elegant finish.
• Monteverro 2021 (97p): A staggering masterpiece that captures the pinnacle of Capalbio's terroir with a deep, dark black cherry profile and flashes of vibrant ruby. The nose is an incredibly elegant and complex floral symphony, while the palate demonstrates breathtaking depth and flawless polish. Flawlessly marrying high-toned acidity with a massive core of dark fruit, this wine achieved top marks from the panel for its unparalleled precision, symmetry, and aristocratic texture. 
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Flight 7: The 2022 Vintage

• Ornellaia 2022 (97p): Carrying the banner of "La Determinazione," this youthful bottle counters a hot, dry vintage with surprising energy and vibrancy. It reveals a darker, more savory register of black fig, star anise, and iron-flecked warm stone alongside a touch of exotic fruit. It is muscular and controlled on the palate, rolling out waves of bitter cherry and dark chocolate with a firm, tensile grip.
• Monteverro 2022 (98p): Masterfully outmaneuvering the heat of the 2022 season, Monteverro relies on its close proximity to the cooling sea breezes to achieve phenomenal aromatic freshness. It opens with a sophisticated bouquet of ripe plums, crushed minerals, and fresh tobacco leaf. The entry on the palate is spectacularly round yet athletic, showcasing silky tannins and a juicy, energetic acidity that makes it immediately compelling while promising a brilliant future