Showing posts with label Frescobaldi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Frescobaldi. Show all posts

Monday, July 28, 2025

Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Le Serre Nuove

Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Le Serre Nuove with Lasagna

Linda babysat for kids/grandkid so D-in-law Vivianna prepared home-made lasagna with Italian Sausage. I opened from our cellar this Italian Red Bordeaux Blend for a food wine pairing. 

This wine, Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Le Serre Nuove, is produced by Tenuta dell'Ornellaia, the renowned winery located in the Bolgheri region of Tuscany, Italy, producers of the exceptional flagship blend known as Ornellaia.

Bolgheri, where the estate is located, is a small village on the picturesque Tuscan coast, in the Maremma region near the Tyrrhenian Sea. Its distinctive terroir, characterized by a blend of sand, marl, marine fossils, clay, limestone, and pebbles, coupled with a mild maritime climate and cooling sea breezes, creates ideal conditions for growing high-quality grapes, particularly the Bordeaux varieties used in Ornellaia's wines.

Ornellaia is somewhat of a legend, one of the first “Super-Tuscans”, the result of Marchese Lodovico Antinori’s vision and ambition to produce a great Bordeaux-style wine in Tuscany. The first vineyards were planted in 1981 and today have expanded to almost 250 acres.

Today, the winery is owned by the Frescobaldi family, one of seven estates they own and manage across the Northern Italian Tuscany Bolgheri region, some of which have been in the family dating back to the 1300's.

I first discovered this wine dining at Italian Village in the city (Chicago) for a team business dinner, selected from the vast Italian Village extraordinary wine cellar list crafted and curated by friend Jared Gelband, Wine Director.

I wrote about this label in an earlier blogpost in these pages, excerpted here.

The Ornellaia vineyard totals 280 acres that are divided into more than 70 vineyard plots according to soil type, exposition and varietal. There are three major soil types: marine (sedimentary deposit from the sea), alluvial (marly, sandy clays with mineral veins), and volcanic (schist, gravel and porous soils). All the vineyards are about 3 miles from the Mediterranean shore. The mild maritime climate features sea breezes that keep the sky clear, low rainfall, and long summers that favor the development of aromatic compounds. Vineyards are planted at high density, from 5,000-8,700 hl/ha, and feature several training systems – spur-pruned cordon, single Guyot, and head-pruned vines.

Bolgheri, where the winery is located, is a small village nestled along the picturesque Tuscan coast, specifically in the Maremma region near the Tyrrhenian Sea. Its unique terroir, characterized by a blend of sand, marl, marine fossils, clay, limestone, and pebbles, coupled with a mild maritime climate and cooling sea breezes, creates ideal conditions for growing high-quality grapes, particularly the Bordeaux varieties used in Ornellaia's wines. 

Tenuta dell'Ornellaia was founded in 1981 by Marchese Lodovico Antinori. Antinori, a member of a prominent Tuscan winemaking family, was inspired to create wines of exceptional quality in the Bolgheri region. He planted Bordeaux varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot, which led to the first vintage of Ornellaia in 1985. The estate's commitment to quality and expression of the terroir quickly gained recognition for the wines, leading to international acclaim.

Over the years, Ornellaia's ownership changed hands, though its dedication to quality remains a constant. Robert Mondavi acquired a minority stake in 1999 and full ownership in 2002. The Mondavi Corporation later entered into a partnership with the Frescobaldi family, another distinguished name in Tuscan winemaking. In 2005, the Frescobaldi family became the sole proprietor of Ornellaia, and continues to manage the estate today. 

Throughout its history, Ornellaia has benefited from the expertise of talented winemakers, including André Tchelistcheff in its early years, and Michel Rolland as a long-time consultant. Most recently, Axel Heinz served as the winemaker and Estate Director for over 17 years, and his legacy includes a project called Vendemmia d'Artista which involves collaboration with artists for special vintage releases. The current production manager for both Ornellaia and the super ultra-premium brand is Masseto is Marco Balsimelli.

First released in 1997, Le Serre Nuove is the 'Second' wine of ultra-premium Ornellaia, produced to broaden the selection of wines crafted during the crafting of the base wines of Ornellaia. It is produced mainly from younger vines, but crafted to match the profile of freshness, accessibility and flexibility with structure, balance and intensity that showcase the great terroirs of the producer’s properties.

This was an ideal pairing with the zesty lasagna. 

Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Le Serre Nuove 2019

The 2019 Le Serre Nuove Dell'Ornellaia is 54% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot. 

This release was rated 95 by James Suckling, 94 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, Decanter and Wine & Spirits, 93 points by Vinous and Wine Spectator, and 92 by Jeb Dunnuck.

Winemaker's notes - “With its hallmark deep colour, Le Serre Nuove dell’Ornellaia 2019 has a lively balsamic vein. Soft and silky, elegant tannins and an enduring savoury finish fill the mouth.” - Olga Fusari – Winemaker - May 2021.

Winemaker Notes - “With its usual intense color, Le Serre Nuove dell’Ornellaia 2019 has a nose full of fresh notes of ripe red fruits, accompanied by a lively balsamic vein with aromatic hints of cypress and eucalyptus berries. The wine is soft and silky in the mouth, filling it with an elegant tannic texture and a sapid and persistent finish.”

The winemaker’s description of “lively balsamic” best describes the predominate flavor sprite of this wine. Dark garnet colored, full bodied, the black currant and blackberry fruits are accented by that layer with savory notes of smoke, rosemary spice, black pepper, leather and hints of creosote and cedar with a lively moderate tannin laced finish.  

Tuesday, December 14, 2021

Ornellaia Le Serre Nuove Bolgheri 2017

Ornellaia "Le Serre Nuove" Bolgheri 2017

As has become our custom, gathered in the city for final stages of our planning meetings, we dined at Italian Village for dinner. Seeking basic American cuisine I ordered a filet of beef and baked potato. For a wine accompaniment I chose from the vast Italian Village, Chicago, extraordinary wine cellar list, this 2017 Bolgheri Rosso Le Serre Nuove dell' Ornellaia. It turned out to be a perfect selection, amplifying the enjoyment of both the beefsteak dinner and the wine. 
 
First released in 1997, this is the twentieth anniversary release of this label. It is the 'Second' wine of Ornellaia, produced to broaden the selection of wines crafted during the assembly of the base wines of Ornellaia. It is produced mainly from younger vines, but crafted to match the profile of freshness, accessibility and flexibility with structure, balance and intensity typical of the great terroirs of the company properties.

Ornellaia is somewhat of a legend, one of the first “super-Tuscans”, the result of Marchese Lodovico Antinori’s ambition to produce a great Bordeaux-style wine in Tuscany. The first vineyards were planted in 1981 and today have expanded to almost 250 acres. 

Today, the winery is owned by the Frescobaldi family, one of seven estates they own and manage across the Northern Italian Tuscany Bolgheri region, some of which have been in the family dating back to the 1300's.

This label was awarded 93 points by James Suckling, Wine Spectator and Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, and 92 points by Vinous. 

This is a Bordeaux Blend of 54% Merlot, 26% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Cabernet Franc and 6% Petit Verdot. It was aged for 15 months s in oak. The significant production was 250,000 bottles released in September 2019.

The year 2107 vintage was hot and dry which contributed to the richness and concentration of the fruit.

Winemaker's Notes: “Le Serre Nuove dell’Ornellaia 2017 expresses itself with outstanding elegance, combining great ageing potential with immediate enjoyability. A deep ruby red colour with purple highlights, a beautifully complex nose characterised by scents of small red berries and balsamic notes reminiscent of Mediterranean scrub vegetation. The quality of the tannins on the palate is particularly striking, smooth and silky. The mouthfeel ends with a lingering finish and unexpected freshness.”, Olga Fusari – Winemaker – May 2019.

Bright ruby colored, medium full bodied, seductive floral aromas sprouted from the glass, vibrant, expressive round balanced and nicely integrated full black berry and ripe plum fruits are accented by  leather, spice and pipe tobacco, notes of cedar and hints of  licorice and mint with silky full fine-grained tannins on the long full finish. 

RM 93 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3377327

https://www.ornellaia.com/en

http://www.italianvillage-chicago.com/

https://italianvillage-chicago.com/wine-cellar/  

https://twitter.com/italianvlg

https://twitter.com/Ornellaia

 

 

 

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Eataly New York Wine Dine Options

Eataly New York offers Wine Dine Options

One of our checklist items for our getaway weekend in New York was to dine at Eataly. Even though we have one in Chicago, there are seafood specials (shown below) and options available in New York that don't make their way inland, such as my favored choice, Flounder (shown right).

Its not necessarily haute cuisine fine dining but its a fun adventure that captures the vibrancy and energy of New York, with fresh Atlantic seafood options. Of course they also have a pasta restaurant, and several other dining options.

So we dined at the bustling Eataly Il Pesce restaurant and selected a Riserva wine from their Reserve list. I chose the Flounder, Linda and Viv the sea scallops and Alec the calamari and then the Octopus. The sea scallops were especially delectable and earned the highest marks.

Rather than waiting for a table, we chose to sit at the bar which turned out to be a real treat. It was like getting a front row seat for a show as we watched the chef prepare the entrees. Working in closed quarters, the culinary staff are a well choreographed team, each with his/her specialty/role in the orchestrated process.

Sitting at the bar, we had front row seats watching Chef Lady, and then Chef Eric prepare sushi and several of the dishes right in front of us.




For our seafood meal, we chose this Reserve Frescobaldi Benfizio Tuscan Chardonnay.

Marchesi de' Frescobaldi Pomino Castello di Pomino Bianco Riserva Benefizio 2014 

Light straw colored, medium light bodied, crisp clean citrus and lychee fruits with wet stone and hints of spice, floral and wood on the moderate citrus toned finish.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2302718

http://en.frescobaldi.com/wines/benefizio-riserva/

Eataly Vino NYC


Since we were last at Eataly, New York, they have moved their wine shop to a dedicated storefront next door. Eataly Vino NYC includes the basic selection of wines offered in the store along with a Reserve room of several premium vintage selections (shown below).

Inexcusably and inexplicably, they do not offer for sale all the wines available in the restaurants next door, such as the wine we drank with dinner, above. This should be an obvious merchandising offering. Isn't this what a retail with restaurant site like Eataly is all about?



Eataly Il Pesce Octopus entree