Tenuta dell'Ornellaia

Lodovico knows wines well and chose an idyllic site in the hills near Bolgheri to create his own magnificent property, beautifully positioned next to the Sassicaia vineyards on gentle slopes above the coastal plain. He set about creating a great estate to make wines in the emerging Super-Tuscan mould to rival the best wines in the world. Instead of planting Sangiovese, he planted Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, as well as Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc. A massive investment was made and an impressive winery was built in the Californian style. Work continues today extending the winery and the initial desire to fully integrate the structures into the landscape has resulted in a beautiful and harmonious building. Lodovico developed and nurtured the estate for over a decade before passing the baton to the very successful joint ownership of Marchese de' Frescobaldi and Robert Mondavi which has today metamorphosed into ownership by Tenuta di Toscana, a company controlled by Marchesi de'Frescobaldi.

With its usual deep ruby-red colour, Ornellaia 2018 features a lively and intense aromatic expression, a distinctive mark of the vintage. Red fruits, citrus notes, hints of liquorice and Mediterranean scrub combine to form its profile. With the first taste it is enveloping and all its components well-balanced: the tannins, both dense and silky in texture, fill the palate with elegance and precision. The finish is lifted by a distinct tangy vein that enhances the sensation of freshness and persistence.

A match made in heaven with roast spring lamb with rosemary and garlic served with kale and Tuscan white beans.

The clusters were hand-picked and then selected by hand on a double sorting table, before and after destemming, and finally softly crushed. Each grape variety and single vineyard block were vinified separately. Fermentation took place in stainless steel and concrete tanks at temperatures between 26 and 30°C for one week, followed by maceration for about 15 days, for a total time in the vat of about three weeks. The malolactic fermentation took place mainly in oak barrels, 70% new and 30% once used. The wine then remained in barriques, in Ornellaia’s temperature-controlled cellars for about 18 months. After the first 12 months of maturation, the wine was assembled and then returned to the barriques for an additional 6 months. After bottling, the wine aged a further 12 months prior to release.