Ornellaia’s Bolgheri Rosso Le Serre Nuove is a real charmer with a sweet, soft and supple note.

The cuvée is composed of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. In the glass, the cuvée smells of dark fruits and cherries, leather, spices and pipe tobacco.

Medium- to full-bodied, with fine, elegant tannins and a floral finish.

The grapes for Le Serre Nuove are hand-picked and fermented in steel tanks. The young wine then matures in barrels for about 18 months.

• RATINGS Robert Parker: 94JamesSuckling: 95
• GRAPE VARIETIES Merlot 50% , Cabernet Sauvignon 34% , Cabernet Franc 9% , Petit Verdot 7%

It was in 1981 that Marquis Lodovico Antinori, cousin of Piero Antinori, founded Tenuta Ornellaia, in the heart of the Bolgheri area, a few kilometers from the Mediterranean coast.
With the first harvest of 1985, what would become an icon among SuperTuscans was born: the “Ornellaia,” put on the market three years later, in 1988. With the opening of the winery, world-renowned winemaker Michel Rolland began to take charge of the technical side of the winery. Subsequently, the other two labels, “Le Volte” and “Le Serre Nuove,” were born in the 1990s.
In early 2000, Robert Mondavi, the great California producer, acquired the estate, then sold 50 percent of it to Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi, which would buy the other 50 percent only three years later. The late 2000s also saw the birth of the “Poggio alle Gazze” label, which would be followed by the highly selected late harvest wine “Ornus,” made from purely processed petit manseng grapes.
A legendary winery, then, which is credited with writing the history of Bolgheri. With nearly one hundred hectares under vine, to which another thirteen hectares are added for rent, Tenuta Ornellaia has always focused on one and the same goal: quality. All decisions, all choices, take into account every smallest and smallest detail, and from the vineyard to the final bottling, no shortcuts are allowed. During the harvest, only the most valuable and balanced grapes are selected and picked, then processed separately in the winery according to the cru of origin. Then a year of rest in cask, followed by the composition of the blend: everything is aimed at exalting every smallest nuance of the terroir, and enhancing the expression of each individual vintage, always respecting the continuity of what can be considered the “Ornellaia style,” synonymous with experience, expertise and determination, which to the glass translate into complexity and elegance that are difficult to match.