Ornellaia - Le Serre Nuove 2016 | Monsieur Touton Selection

Vintage

Spring was characterized by dry and sunny weather, ideal conditions for normal vegetative growth that led to quick and full flowering at the end of May From June water stress steadily arrived. July will be remembered as particularly scorching hot and dry, with temperature highs consistently above 30°C on every single day of the month. Fortunately the rain arrived around August 10th with heavy rainfall that unblocked the ripening process, bringing with it some much fresher weather during the final phase of ripening. This cooler but sunny weather lasted for the entire harvesting period, allowing the winery to harvest very slowly, waiting to make sure that every vineyard had arrived at the perfect point in the maturing phase.

Estate

Ornellaia, founded in 1981, has quickly become one of the most iconic producers in Italy (and beyond) -- a legendary estate hidden in the foothills of Bolgheri, facing the Mediterranean coast. Ornellaia produces world-class wines from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc, and prides itself on its obsession with excellence – at all levels. No shortcuts in the production process are allowed or tolerated, each grape is subject to a double selection process, and each vineyard is vinified separately in individual tanks, allowing each individual base wine to contribute its own character to the final blend.

Vinification

The clusters were hand-picked into 15-kg boxes and then selected by hand on a double sorting table, before and after de-stemming, and finally gently crushed. Each variety and each parcel was vinified separately. Alcoholic fermentation took place in stainless steel, at temperatures of between 26° and 30°C for two weeks followed by maceration of around 10-15 days. Malolactic fermentation was started in stainless steel, and completed after transfer to barrels (25% new and 75% a year old). The wine remained in Ornellaia’s temperature-controlled cellar for a further 15 months. It was assembled after the first 12 months and then reintroduced in the barrels for a further 3 months. After bottling, it was aged for an additional six months prior to release.

Wine

Coming primarily from the Estate's younger vineyards and made with the same passion and attention to detail as Ornellaia, Le Serre Nuove dell'Ornellaia is a true "second vin". A blend of Merlot (64%), Cabernet Sauvignon (17%), Cabernet Franc (10%) and Petit Verdot (9%), Le Serre Nuove dell'Ornellaia combines generosity and depth of flavor with an engaging and vibrant personality

Italy Tuscany Bolgheri