Showing posts with label Tenuta dell'Ornellaia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tenuta dell'Ornellaia. 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.  

Monday, August 22, 2016

Italian Village Vivere Wine Dinner Features Masseto Cellar Selection

Italian Village Vivere Wine Dinner Features Masseto Cellar Selection

A gathering of the 'Pour Boys' for a wine dinner at Chicago's classic Italian Village Vivere Restaurant included a tour of the legendary wine cellar and some premier cellar selections.

Following a recent visit to meet Jared Gelband in his role as the new Wine Director of the extraordinary cellar that supports Italian Village's three restaurants, we returned with our wine group for a dinner featuring a selection of classic wines.


Readers of this column know I have a very sparse collection of Italian wines in our cellar but I pulled and brought from home BYOB a vintage Sangiovese Pertimali (Livio Sassetti) Brunello di Montalcino Riserva from 1997. Jared matched that from his extensive winelist with a 2007 for a mini-horizontal comparison tasting.

    The Italian Village wine cellar boasts over 30,000 bottles from over 1200 different labels as Jared is working to restore it to its historical Spectator Grand Award eminence. Currently they hold a 2 glass Wine Spectator Best of Award for their collection,

Dan and Ernie then dipped into the wine list to select a Château Smith Haut Lafitte Pessac-Léognan Bordeaux 1996 that we know well, in a large format magnum. Clearly the highlight of the evening was a bottle of ultra-premium Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Masseto Toscana IGT Merlot 2001.

We closed the evening with an Le Ragose Amarone della Valpolicella 2006 to complement the dessert  course.

Prior to dinner we were served an antipasta course. Our dinner selections included seared prime Rib-eye steak with asparagus and red potatoes, baby New Zealand rack of Lamb, and Risotto with jumbo Lump Crab with charred white sweet corn and pesto.



Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Masseto Toscana IGT Merlot 2001 

A classic label from this legendary producer, a uncustomary rare Bordeaux single varietal Merlot from Northern Italy. This is one of the most sophisticated and expressive Merlot's I've ever had and its hard to believe it is from Italy.

Dark garnet colored, medium to full bodied, this was focused, polished, a well-balanced symphony of plush concentrated black and red berry fruit flavors accented by subtle tones of mocha and truffle and hints of expresso and cassis turning to a elegant mouth gripping but silky smooth layer of acid and tannins.

RM 94 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=33153



Château Smith Haut Lafitte Pessac-Léognan Bordeaux 1996 

Tasted from large format magnum.

Dark garnet colored, medium bodied, black berry fruits with earthy tones of cigar box, cedar, and  leather.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4338











Pertimali (Livio Sassetti) Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Sangiovese 1997 and 2007

An interesting exposition of terroir in this vintage comparison of this ten and twenty year old. The common terroir profile and character were apparent with vintage specificities being the distinguishable differences between these two wines.

The younger '07 was brighter and more expressive than the older '97. It was also less balanced and polished and a bit bolder but more obtuse. Both exhibited concentrated bright black and red berry fruits with the '97 coming across as more layered in earthy leather, tobacco leaf and tones of creosote and cassis. Initially a bit closed it opened up quite a bit over the next 2 hours. While the '07 was brighter and more forward with its more lively acidity, the older vintage came across as slightly more subdued, polished, with greater balance and complexity, turning to a long polished finish.

Pertimali (Livio Sassetti) Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Sangiovese 1997 
RM 91 points.
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=35653

Pertimali (Livio Sassetti) Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Sangiovese 2007

RM 90 points.
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1616447


Le Ragose Amarone della Valpolicella 2006

Served with the dessert course that included a selection of flourless chocolate lava cake, tiramisu, creme brulee, a chocolate banana bread cake and selection of fresh fruits and gelato.

Dark blackish garnet colored, full bodied, intense, unctuous black berry raisin with a layer of alcohol and bitter dark chocolate notes with bright acidity on a thick tongue coating finish.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1057698




Jared with picture of Italian Village founder, Alfredo Capitanini who founded the restaurant in 1927.

http://italianvillage-chicago.com/