Tenuta dell’Ornellaia Ornellaia 2007 — Bolgheri, 0.75 L

Antinori’s 1981 estate, Frescobaldi’s since 2005

Marchese Lodovico Antinori founded Tenuta dell’Ornellaia in 1981, and the first Ornellaia vintage was 1985. Ornellaia is the estate’s flagship red. The Frescobaldi family bought the remaining half of the estate on 1 April 2005, so the 2007 was made under full Frescobaldi ownership.

Published figures give 99 hectares of vineyard, not dated to 2007: 38 hectares each of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, 12 of Cabernet Franc and 7 of Petit Verdot.

The ownership changed several times before that. Robert Mondavi Winery took a minority stake in November 1999, and in February 2002 Mondavi brought the Frescobaldi family in as 50-50 partners. Constellation Brands acquired The Robert Mondavi Corporation on 22 December 2004, and Frescobaldi bought out the other half on 1 April 2005.

Ornellaia sits beside the estate’s other wines. Le Volte has been made since 1991 and Le Serre Nuove, the second wine, since 1997. Masseto, a Merlot from a 7 hectare vineyard first made in 1986, began at the estate and is now made by a separate team. The soils of the estate vineyards are marine, alluvial and volcanic.

Drinking window of the 2007 Ornellaia

That window has passed, so this is an older bottle, and its condition depends on how it was stored.

More Tuscan reds are listed under Tuscany.