Ornellaia, Bolgheri DOC Superiore Rosso 2018

Description

Ornellaia is an Italian red wine produced by Ornellaia e Masseto. It is the estate’s flagship wines and one of the original, and most famous Super Tuscan wines. it is regarded as one of the world’s iconic wines.  It is bottled as an Bolgheri DOC Superiore Rosso.

Ornellaia e Masseto (the name was changed from Tenuta dell’Ornellaia in 2012) is one of the best known wineries in the  in the Bolgheri appellation on the coast of Tuscany. The estate was founded in 1981 by Marchese Lodovico Antinori. The estate comprises of 115 hectares of vineyards nestled in the foothills near Bolgheri which lie just a few kilometres from the Mediterranean coast (next door to Tenuta San Guido, producer of Sassicaia). During the summer months, the cool sea breeze caresses the vineyards and nearby olive groves, while during the winter the hills provide protection from the cold north winds. The vineyards benefit from a unique combination of maritime climate and a complex mosaic of marine, alluvial and volcanic soils – creating a distinct environment where red and white varieties can best express themselves. Eventually, in 2002, the estate was purchased by Robert Mondavi who entered into a partnership with the Frescobaldi family (Masseto, Luce et al.) who then bought it outright in 2005. Michel Rolland is the consultant oenologist.

Ornellaia 2018 is a blend of 51% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. The grapes are hand-picked into 15 kg crates and then selected by hand on a double sorting table, before and after destemming, and finally softly crushed. Since 2016, in addition to hand-sorting there is also an optical sorting too. 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 Tenuta dell’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.