The 2016 vintage of Ornellaia is worth showing up for

How would you rate this for a product kickoff: Of the top customers throughout the Midwest, 50 people were invited, and all 50 arrived on time. Not one sommelier, merchant, distributor or journalist would miss their drop of the new 2016 vintage of Ornellaia. In the fine wine world, Ornellaia (OR-nell-AI-yah) is the most important thing out of Italy since Chianti. As the crow flies, there's not much difference. Both are in central Italy's Tuscany. There the similarity ends. For centuries, the Chianti region has rolled in gentle hills south of Florence, the Medieval town that nurtured a thriving wine market and Renaissance artists da Vinci, Donatella, Michelangelo, and Raphael. The Ornellaia estate rests in the coastal Maremma region, once a malarial swamp that killed artist Caravaggio. Chianti is a prime example of agro-politics. If your constituency grows white grapes, for instance, then require white grapes in the region's red blend - as did Chianti's 1967 regulations - and everybody stays in business. Ornellaia is an expression of individualism, the first individual being Marchese Lodovico Antinori, 25th generation of Chianti's historic wine family. "White grapes in my Chianti? Sacrilegio!" So, Antinori challenged Italian law by prohibiting white grapes. Next, he challenged Tuscan tradition by establishing the Ornellaia estate in Maremma's Bolgheri subregion, reclaimed from swampland to reveal a mosaic of soils washed in coastal sunshine and cooled by Tyrrhenian Sea breeze. Finally, Antinori challenged France's dominance of the fine wine business, beating them at their own game by planting French grapes in his Italian vineyard. The trifecta paid off. Ornellaia prompted an overhaul of Italian wine law. It stimulated the popular "Super Tuscan" category and established Italy as a contender for the world's finest wine producer. The wines commanding top price at auction (in 2008, a Salmanazar of Ornellaia sold for $34,000), in restaurants (Chicago's Spiaggia - nominated for James Beard's 2019 "Outstanding Wine Program" - lists 2007 Ornellaia at $1,100) and shelf space in Chicagoland's finest retailers including Binny's, Eataly, Hart Davis Hart and Knightsbridge. The vineyard is the next individual, 99 hectares (244 acres) of marine, alluvial and volcanic soils tucked in foothills leading to the coast, cooled by the breeze in the summer, protected from northern winds the winter. Ornellaia's grapes reflect the "Bordeaux blend," including merlot, cabernet sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot - but the blend isn't prefixed. "We don't have a default," explains winemaker Axel Heinz. "We don't want to miss any vineyard expression from year to year, so we have no preconception. We know where we want to go; we just don't know how we'll get there." Ornellaia 2016 is 51 percent cabernet sauvignon, 27 percent merlot, 18 percent Cabernet Franc and 4 percent Petit Verdot. Dense and brilliantly purple, the wine is young and luscious, beckoning with aromas of an enchanted forest, flavors of fresh plum and berries accented by cracked pepper, finishing with chalky tannin and an acidic punch. Heinz nicknames the opposing forces of lush fruit and firm tannin as "La Tensione." (Upon Spring arrival, about $260) Ornellaia 2015, nicknamed "La Carisma," blends 53 percent cabernet sauvignon, 23 percent merlot, 17 percent Cabernet Franc and 7 percent Petit Verdot very dense, chewy, meaty and chalky. (About $250) The estate, now owned by Tuscany's historic Frescobaldi family, also produces white wines, including: Poggio alle Gazze dell'Ornellaia 2016, blending sauvignon blanc, Vermentino, Viognier for dynamic flavors of dried peaches, gooseberry, white pepper, and rich acidity. ($82) Of course, the real purpose of a product kickoff is sales. While Ornellaia doesn't reveal production figures, wholesale orders are in, and the shipment is on the water, so the estate is probably sold out. For your taste of 2016 Ornellaia or Le Serre Nuove (Ross's Choice), check with your fine wine merchant or sommelier soon.