ORNELLAIA is one of Italy’s premier wine producers in the Bolgheri region of Tuscany. The wine estate is relatively young, founded in 1981 by Marchese Lodovico Antinori, a descendant of the famous Gherardesca family. While the soil in Bolgheri doesn’t suit the typical Tuscan sangiovese grape variety, he planted French Bordeaux varieties for red wine with great success. In 1985, the vineyard produced its first vintage. Ten years later, in 1995, Antinori sold 50% of the estate to Robert Mondavi, the famous California wine producer. In 2002 Mondavi took full control, then transferred 50% to Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi who eventually bought Mondavi’s 50% in 2005.

The wines are sold at top international wine stores, Michelin-starred restaurants, and auction houses. Wine is a product where each little detail in the production from the field to the bottle makes a big difference in the final quality. The word “terroir” is used to talk about how the soil, climate, terrain, as well as the human intervention affect the final wine. Ornellaia is a winery with an exceptional terroir. While the land is at the heart of Ornellaia’s excellence, it’s encompassed by the estate’s great know-how. At each stage of production, Ornellaia implements only best practices to make one of Italy’s most renowned wines year after year. For example, Tuscan wineries typically work 245 hours per hectare, while Ornellaia spends 623 hours per hectare tending to its vines without any mechanized activity to make sure each grape reaches its full aromatic potential. The same meticulous attention is maintained during the vinification process. Once each plot of grapes has fully matured in French oak barrels, Axel Heinz, Ornellaia’s expert winemaker, brings his artistry and know-how to create a blend that expresses the specific character of the year’s vintage while maintaining the vineyard’s historic voluptuous elegance. Ornellaia’s production demonstrates the complexity of wine. It’s a product where education is important, but not integral to enjoy

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Vintage 2016: as what seems to be becoming increasingly the norm, the winter of 2016 was characterized by abnormally warm weather with heavy rainfall in February. Budbreak took place on time in the last week of March. The abundance of water in the soil and the warm weather in April led to quick and normal vegetative vine growth. Towards May temperatures returned to normal, slowing the growth down slightly, bringing about the flowering which took place in the last week of May with dry sunny weather, perfect for a good fruit-set. The summer was within the norm with very little rain favouring a notable water stress towards the end of the ripening stage. The usual August holiday period storms were also absent, maintaining a state of hydric stress through the first part of the harvest, but luckily with temperatures that significantly cooled off at night, allowing the vines to recover from the daytime temperatures. Ripening went on steadily building up excellent phenolic potential and a balanced sugar/acidity ratio. Harvest started early on the 24th August with young vine Merlot. By mid- September a few rain showers arrived, that allowed to complete harvest under virtually perfect conditions, sunny, but moderately warm, and enough water in the soil to prevent the vines from shutting down. Harvest was concluded on the 12th of October with the last Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot.