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Lodovico Antinori's renowned contribution to the early Super-Tuscan movement wasn't modeled on its predecessors, Sassicaia or Tignanello. Rather, the brother of Piero Antinori (creator of Tignanello) and cousin of Mario Incisa della Rocchetta went outside Italy to draw upon luminaries such as Andre Tchelistcheff, one of the fathers of California Cabernet, as well as Bordeaux's leading enologist, Michel Rolland. This collaboration resulted in a classic Bordeaux-style blend (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc, with Petit Verdot being added in the '03 vintage) that has become one of the most formidable monuments of the Super-Tuscan class.
- Country: Italy Region: Toscana Sub-Region/Appellation: Bolgheri Rosso
Tenuta dell'Ornellaia makes outstanding wines even in poor vintages - better than any other. In the capable hands of winemaker Thomas Duroux and consultant Michel Rolland, the estate continues its long-standing, stellar record of world-class wine production. Even the estate's "second" wines demonstrate high quality grape growing and flawless production methods. Located in Tuscany's tiny coastal DOC of Bolgheri, the estate was one of the first to plant vines in the area. With producers like Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia, Antinori, Grattamacco, and Le Macchiole among others, Bolgheri is the hotbed of winemaking momentum in Toscana.
With the same name as the winery, a reference to the grove of flowering ash trees surrounding it, Ornellaia is the estate's principal wine. The 63 acres of predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with small plantings of Cabernet Franc vines, lie on elevated parcels composed of clay, gravel, and loam soils. The clones of diverse origins yield a rich palette of nuances. All grapes are destemmed, gently pressed, and introduced into either wooden or stainless steel fermentation vessels. Maceration takes place over a period of 25-32 days at a temperature not exceeding 30 degrees Celsius, during which time the wine completes its alcoholic fermentation. The juice remains unblended until the wines have spent approximately one year in small French barriques. The final cuvée is assembled to evoke the vinous finess of the Cabernet highlighted by ripe, aromatic notes of Merlot in an elegant yet firm style balancing fruit, acidity, oak, and tannic backbone.
The estate's Le Volte is a blend of Tuscan Sangiovese with Bordeaux's Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot that can be considered a "Young Ornellaia." They also produce Le Serre Nuove, the "second Ornellaia," and Masseto, one Bolgheri's greatest wines!
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