Ornellaia 2020 Bolgheri Rosso Superiore DOC "La Proporzione"
Ornellaia was born from the encounter between nature and thought. Ancient and complex soils dialogue through the wisdom of man with a delicate microclimate that finds echo and mirror in the Mediterranean Sea. Long aging accompanies the estate's great wine to its fullest expression, revealing over time its finesse, breadth and generosity.
Blend: 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot
WINEMAKER'S TASTING NOTES
Alc: 14.5% vol. "With its usual deep ruby red color, Ornellaia 2020 is characterized on the nose by aromas of ripe red fruits and delicate notes of vanilla and sweet tobacco. On the palate, the wine is soft and velvety, with a pleasant, enveloping mouthfeel that invites a second sip. The tannic texture is dense and at the same time elegant, and the finish proves to be savory and beautifully persistent." Olga Fusari - Winemaker - July 2022
2020 WEATHER
After a mild and rainy winter, March saw a temporary drop in temperatures with a few nights below 0°C just as budding began in the last week of the month. However, the newly budded shoots were still protected by the cottony bud tissue, which helped prevent frost damage. The rest of spring saw generally warm weather with normal rainfall, ensuring smooth vegetative development until flowering, which occurred between May 20 and 25. In June, a rainy passage of great intensity in the middle of the month followed a very long dry period with substantial absence of rainfall and torrid temperatures until the end of August. The veraison occurred evenly and quickly between July 20 and July 25, initiating grape ripening under a blazing sun. At the end of August came some rains that led to a significant drop in temperatures, with overnight lows as low as 13°C, ideal conditions for completing the ripening of the Merlots. They were harvested early and quickly, in just two weeks, to preserve as much freshness and fruitiness as possible, just in time to avoid a sudden week-long heat wave where the thermometer marked up to 37°C, causing sugar gradations to soar for all the varieties still to be harvested, leading us to start harvesting Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon from the young vineyards as early as September 17. Towards the end of September a rainy passage finally brought weather conditions back to normal, the water absorbed by the clusters lowered alcohol contents bringing them back to normal values, allowing us to conclude the harvest of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot on October 3.
VINIFICATION AND AGING
Harvesting was done by hand in 15-kg crates, and the grapes were sorted on a double sorting table before and after destemming and subjected to soft crushing at the end. In 2016, optical sorting was introduced in addition to manual sorting to further increase the quality of selection. Each variety and plot was vinified separately. Alcoholic fermentation took place partly in stainless steel vats, partly in concrete vats at temperatures between 26 and 30°C for a week, which was followed by maceration for about 15 days, for a total stay in tanks of about three weeks. Malolactic fermentation took place mainly in oak barrels (70 percent new and 30 percent second-passage). The wine remained in barriques in Ornellaia's temperature-controlled cellar for a period of about 18 months. After the first 12 months, blending was carried out, then reintroduced into the barriques, where it spent another 6 months. The wine remains in the bottle for 12 months before release.
