Le Volte

Veal parmesan, sautéed veal medallions.

The 2014 vintage will go down in history as one of the most unusual in the memory of Ornellaia. A warm and rainy winter was followed by a mild and dry spring which allowed for a normal vegetative growth with timely and regular blooms. After a July that was fairly average but a cold and rainy August created very difficult conditions for the ripening of the grapes; it also greatly increasing the threat of disease. Meticulous stripping in the vineyard and treatments during the entire month of August enabled us to maintain the good health of our vines, allowing them to develop free of disease during September and October. These two months brought perfect conditions with mostly sunny and dry weather, offering excellent conditions for ripening, particularly for Merlot. The harvest will go down in history as one of the latest, starting on 6 September with the Merlot from young vines, and ending on 22 October with the last Cabernet Sauvignons.

The different varietals were fermented separately in small steel tanks to maintain their varietal characteristics intact. The alcoholic fermentation was followed by malolactic fermentation, again in steel tanks. The wine was then aged for 10 months, partly in barrique used for Ornellaia and partly in cement tanks, to obtain the perfect balance between tannic structure and an expression of fresh fruit.

In 1981, Marchese Lodovico Antinori breathed new life into Tenuta dell' Ornellaia, an estate whose potential had been ignored for decades. With the help of Andre Tchelistcheff, the famous agronomist, Antinori planted the first French vines in Bolgheri, which lies in the heart of Tuscany's coastal region, Maremma. The estate yields some of the finest Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc in Tuscany. In 2002, Marchesi de' Frescobaldi and Robert Mondavi became owners of Tenuta dell'Ornellaia, which is now owned exclusively by Marchesi de' Frescobaldi. Ornellaia has established itself among the iconic wine estates in Italy (and beyond). The estate is dedicated to producing charming and opulent wines, full of Mediterranean character and finesse, reflecting the estate’s unique terroir in Bolgheri on the Tuscan coast. The combination of Bolgheri’s unique soils and growing conditions, and what can only be characterized as a total obsession with excellence, result in the world-class wines from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Sauvignon Blanc that so many wine lovers across the world have come to cherish.