Bolgheri DOC Rosso

Crafted from the same varieties, under the same sky, from the same philosophy: Le Serre Nuove dell’Ornellaia is a proud second vin, which has the ability to foretell the personality of the estate’s flagship wine. Together, the two wines provide their own distinctive points of view. The pleasure of sipping Le Serre Nuove dell’Ornellaia evolves over time, adding the charm of maturity to the vigour of youth.

Winemaker’s Notes

The 2020 Growing Season

After a mild, rainy winter, March brought a temporary drop in temperatures. A few nights dipped below 0°C at the start of budding. Fortunately, the cottony tissue of the buds protected the new shoots from frost damage. The rest of spring remained warm, and normal rainfall ensured steady growth until flowering, which occurred between May 20 and 25.

In mid-June, intense rain fell, followed by a long dry spell with little rain and high temperatures until late August. Véraison occurred quickly and evenly from July 20 to 25, with grapes ripening under the hot sun. Rains arrived at the end of August, causing temperatures to drop significantly to 13°C at night. This created ideal conditions for the Merlot grapes to complete their ripening.

We harvested the Merlot in just two weeks to maintain freshness and fruitiness. We timed this well to avoid a sudden heatwave that raised temperatures to 37°C, increasing sugar levels in the remaining varieties. Consequently, we began harvesting Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon from young vines on September 17.

Towards the end of September, a burst of rain restored normal conditions. The rain absorbed by the grapes lowered alcohol levels to normal. We completed the harvest of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot by October 3

Vinification & Aging

The grapes were handpicked into 15 kg baskets. The bunches were selected by hand on a double sorting table before and after de-stemming, then finally soft-pressed. In addition to handpicking, we introduced optical selection in 2016 in order to further increase the quality of berry selection. Each variety and each parcel of land was vinified separately. The alcoholic fermentation took place partly in stainless steel tanks and partly in concrete vats at temperatures between 22-28°C for two weeks, followed by maceration for a total of about 10-15 days.

The malolactic fermentation took place in stainless steelwas after which the wines were racked into barriques (25% new and 75% used once). The wine remained in barriques in Ornellaia’s temperature-controlled cellars for about 15 months. After the first 12 months the wine was blended and then returned to the barriques for an additional three months of ageing. The wine remains in the bottle for another six months prior to release. Axel Heinz – Estate Director

Learn more about this wine at the Ornellaia website here.