Tenuta dell 'Ornellaia

The Estate was founded in 1981 by Marchese Lodovico Antinori when he decided to establish a new, truly exceptional wine estate in a beautiful, unspoiled section of the Tuscan coast known as the Maremma. The decision was made to plant Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot as these varietals are most suited to the exceptional microclimate of the Bolgheri area.

Tenuta dell’Ornellaia (www.ornellaia.it) produces four highly-acclaimed wines: Ornellaia, a blend of predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc; Le Serre Nuove, the ‘second vin’ of Ornellaia; Masseto, 100% Merlot; and Le Volte, a blend of Sangiovese, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Careful hand-harvest ensures that only the finest fruit goes into these wines and meticulous winemaking methods—such as keeping vineyard lots separate until final blending—result in the finest expression of this distinctive terroir.

The wines of Tenuta dell’Ornellaia have achieved legendary critical status, with the 2001 Masseto earning a rare perfect 100 points from The Wine Spectator. And Ornellaia’s 2003 vintage was rated best wine from the Maremma region by Falstaff, Austria’s most prestigious wine magazine.

In 2005, wine experts from 21 countries arrived to take part in a landmark vertical tasting. They sampled the wines from twenty years in consecutive order—celebrating Tenuta dell Ornellaia’s past and securing its future as one of Italy’s premier brands.