Tenuta dell' Ornellaia

From the Maremma to the world stage: how Lodovico Antinori reinvented Bolgheri

In 1981, Marchese Lodovico Antinori — a scion of the Florentine Antinori wine dynasty — bought land near the small town of Bolgheri on the Tuscan Tyrrhenian coast and had the first vines planted there. His goal was clear: to produce Bordeaux-style red wines on a terroir that hardly anyone had taken seriously in viticulture until then. In 1985, the first vintage of the flagship wine Ornellaia was released — and heralded a new chapter in Italian wine history. The 1998 vintage was voted the best red wine of the year by Wine Spectator and cemented the estate's reputation on the international stage. After an intermezzo as a partner in the Robert Mondavi Winery, the Tuscan entrepreneurial family Frescobaldi took over the winery completely from the mid-2000s. Since then, they have continued to lead Ornellaia with qualitative consistency — supported by Bordeaux consultant Michel Rolland.

Plot by plot: vineyard and cellar as a system of precision

The approximately 97 hectares of vineyard area, divided into about 50 independent plots, are spread over two sites: the historic core site around the wine cellar and the more northerly Bellaria estate. The soils alternate between marine, alluvial, and volcanic origins; in higher-lying plots, clayey soil with limestone gravel is added. In summer, a constant sea breeze cools the vineyards, and in winter, the surrounding hills protect the vines from cold snaps from the north — a microclimate that offers Bordeaux varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot optimal ripening conditions.

In the cellar, this plot logic continues consistently: every grape variety and every plot is vinified separately. The grapes are harvested by hand in 15-kg crates and sorted on double sorting tables before and after destemming. Alcoholic fermentation takes place in steel tanks or cement vats, and malolactic fermentation mainly in new oak barriques. The subsequent aging lasts about 18 months. Up to 80 base wines are tasted daily to decide during the assemblage which of the estate's wines each plot will flow into. Sustainability is not a marketing term here: Ornellaia relies on reduced pesticide use and the active promotion of biodiversity in the vineyard.

A portfolio with a clear hierarchy — from entry-level to icon wine

The portfolio follows a well-thought-out tiered logic that makes meaningful use of all the estate's plots. The Ornellaia Bolgheri Superiore DOC — the cuvée from the best, ripest plots, dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot — is the house's reference wine: dense, structured, with dark berry fruit, cedar wood, and the typical salty-mineral length of the coastal site. Le Serre Nuove dell'Ornellaia, produced since 1997, comes from younger plots of the same terroir and is vinified according to an identical principle — with a higher Merlot content, which gives the wine earlier accessibility and Mediterranean melt. Le Volte dell'Ornellaia, the third line, complements the cuvée of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Sangiovese: fruit-driven, easy-drinking, a direct expression of the coastal climate without the long barrique aging of its big siblings. Anyone who would like to get to know the estate beyond the wine will find an olive oil from the same region with the Olio Extra Dell'Ornellaia — consistently thought through with the same demand for terroir and craftsmanship.