The Wine Advocate  | RP 93
Published: May 31, 2023
Drink: 2024-2033

The 2021 Bolgheri Rosso Le Serre Nuove dell'Ornellaia is a nicely extracted and rich blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. This vintage is very generous, even opulent, with dark fruit that is framed by exotic spice, baking chocolate and softly toasted tones from French oak. The wine ends on a creamy note with vanilla and cinnamon. The oak needs a few more years to integrate.

Following a very productive 17 years at Masseto and Ornellaia, Estate Director Axel Heinz announced in March of this year that he was leaving his position. He will join Château Lascombes in Bordeaux as CEO. Axel was born in Germany, raised in France and established a brilliant winemaking career in Italy. "It makes it difficult to know which national soccer team to root for," he once joked with me. Under his time at Masseto and Ornellaia, the two brands grew in respective strength with individual identities. His new releases command some of the highest prices in Italian wine and are sought after by collectors worldwide. Axel oversaw the construction of the new Masseto winery, and he launched a second wine called Massetino (new vintages of both are reviewed here). Axel was quoted in the Italian press as saying, "Italy will stay in my heart forever, but it's time to go back to France."

Decanter  | D 90
Published: Feb 16, 2024
Drink: 2026-2034 

Cool blue fruits and crushed stones on the palate, this smells fresh and clean with some dried herbs, mint, liquorice and aniseed. High acidity and cool blue fruit give the initial flavours before the salty, almost stony-edged tannins come into play. It's sleek and I like the clean nature of the expression. It feels refined but at the same time really not giving muhc in the way of filling texture, fruit forwardness or energy. Feels a little restricted right now. 11% Petit Verdot completes the blend.

Closure: Cork
Alcohol: 14.50%
Body: Medium
Grapes: 11% Cabernet Franc 28% Cabernet Sauvignon 50% Merlot

Ornellaia.com

Crafted from the same varieties, under the same sky, from the same philosophy: Le Serre Nuove dell’Ornellaia is a proud second vin, which has the ability to foretell the personality of the estate’s flagship wine. Together, the two wines provide their own distinctive points of view. The pleasure of sipping Le Serre Nuove dell’Ornellaia evolves over time, adding the charm of maturity to the vigour of youth.  

LE SERRE NUOVE DELL’ORNELLAIA 2020 - BOLGHERI DOC ROSSO
Made with the same passion and attention to detail we dedicate to Ornellaia, Le Serre Nuove dell’Ornellaia is a real second vin. A blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot which combines immediate pleasantness and taste-olfactory complexity with a proven ageing potential.

WINEMAKER’STASTINGNOTES
50% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, 11% Petit Verdot
Alc. : 14,5% vol.
“The product of a vintage that has proven to be high calibre and deeply satisfying, Le Serre Nuove dell’Ornellaia 2021 allows the tannin qualities and balanced concentration to shine through. The wine displays a bright ruby red with the usual purple highlights in the glass. Refreshing on the nose with pink pepper and cypress berries aromas, which are reminiscent of the Mediterranean shrub. On tasting, the wine is elegant with a lovely acidity and an enduring and savoury finish, which entices further enjoyment.”
Olga Fusari - Winemaker - April 2023

THE 2021 GROWING SEASON
2021 started with a mild yet rainy winter that enabled the water resources in the soil to be replenished. After a dry March, budbreak occurred in the first fortnight of April. The gradual rise in temperatures and normal rainfall allowed the shoots to develop evenly before flowering in superb conditions towards the end of May. Summer fully arrived in June with temperatures slightly above average and an almost total absence of rain, resulting in veraison in the last week of July. The dry spell continued throughout August and September, but the spring rain and our estate’s deep soils allowed the vines to avoid overly intense water stress, creating the conditions for small, highly concentrated grapes with exceptional potential in terms of quality. 
September was hot and sunny, devoid of rainfall, which provided for an “à la carte” harvest to convey the maximum quality potential of each vineyard.
The red grapes were harvested mostly in September, with Merlot within the first fortnight, and other varieties on the estate from 13 September onwards, ending on 1 October.

VINIFICATION AND AGEING
The grapes were handpicked into 15 kg baskets. The bunches were selected by hand on a double sorting table before and after de-stemming, then finally soft-pressed. In addition to handpicking, we introduced optical selection in 2016 in order to further increase the quality of berry selection. Each variety and each parcel of land was vinified separately. The alcoholic fermentation took place partly in stainless steel tanks and partly in concrete vats at temperatures between 22-28°C for two weeks, followed by maceration for a total of about 10-15 days. The malolactic fermentation took place in stainless steelwas after which the wines were racked into barriques (25% new and 75% used once). The wine remained in barriques in Ornellaia's temperature-controlled cellars for about 15 months. After the first 12 months the wine was blended and then returned to the barriques for an additional three months of ageing. The wine remains in the bottle for another six months prior to release.