Winemaker Notes
The product of a vintage that has proven to be high calibre and deeply satisfying, Le Serre Nuove dell’Ornellaia 2021 allows the tannin qualities and balanced concentration to shine through. The wine displays a bright ruby red with the usual purple highlights in the glass. Refreshing on the nose with pink pepper and cypress berries aromas, which are reminiscent of the Mediterranean shrub. On tasting, the wine is elegant with a lovely acidity and an enduring and savory finish, which entices further enjoyment.
Blend: 50% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, 11% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
-
Jeb Dunnuck
This is one of the great vintages for this cuvée and would be a wine for lovers of Bordeaux. The 2021 Le Serre Nuove Dell'Ornellaia sports a saturated red hue and opens to a great layered and harmonious nose, with aromas of kirsch, leather, fresh Mediterranean herbs, and crushed flowers that all resonate together with wonderful purity and depth. It’s open and generous on the palate, with refined, polished tannins, outstanding length, and refreshing acidity that’s seamlessly woven into the wine. Boy, is this hard to resist now and is a truly stunning wine from recently departed winemaker Olga Fusari. Bravo. Stash as much of this as you can away – it’s one for the ages. A great feather in the cap for Axel Heinz as well, it can only increase anticipation of the house’s top label for next year. Bravo tutti.
-
Wine Enthusiast
On the nose, hot, meaty, umami aromas hold court, but dark fruit and a sanguine, tangy metallic component prevent those notes of smoke, pepper and tar from becoming overpowering. Undertones of vanilla and chocolate lift the fruit on the palate, but unyielding tannins and energetic acid ensure the spicy earthiness endures.
-
James Suckling
A firm and linear red with currant, berry, chocolate and cedar character. It’s medium- to full-bodied. Fine tannins that run the length of the wine. It’s tight and focused. Energetic and bright. 50% merlot and 28% cabernet sauvignon and the rest split equally between petit verdot and cabernet franc. Better after 2026.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Bolgheri Rosso Le Serre Nuove dell'Ornellaia is a nicely extracted and rich blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. This vintage is very generous, even opulent, with dark fruit that is framed by exotic spice, baking chocolate and softly toasted tones from French oak. The wine ends on a creamy note with vanilla and cinnamon. The oak needs a few more years to integrate.
-
Wine Spectator
A polished red, complex and perfumed, featuring black currant, blackberry, plum, violet and iron aromas and flavors. Builds nicely, showing off its poise and releasing the dense tannins at the end. This should evolve well. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2025 through 2040. 3,252 cases imported.
In 1981, Marchese Lodovico Antinori breathed new life into Tenuta dell' Ornellaia, an estate whose potential had been ignored for decades. With the help of Andre Tchelistcheff, the famous agronomist, Antinori planted the first French vines in Bolgheri, which lies in the heart of Tuscany's coastal region, Maremma. The estate yields some of the finest Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc in Tuscany. In 2002, Marchesi de' Frescobaldi and Robert Mondavi became owners of Tenuta dell'Ornellaia, which is now owned exclusively by Marchesi de' Frescobaldi.
Ornellaia has established itself among the iconic wine estates in Italy (and beyond). The estate is dedicated to producing charming and opulent wines, full of Mediterranean character and finesse, reflecting the estate’s unique terroir in Bolgheri on the Tuscan coast. The combination of Bolgheri’s unique soils and growing conditions, and what can only be characterized as a total obsession with excellence, result in the world-class wines from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Sauvignon Blanc that so many wine lovers across the world have come to cherish.
Ornellaia employs a full time team of 80 people whose passion and motivation make Ornellaia what it is today. No shortcuts in the part of the production are allowed and the details literally come down to a grape by grape basis. Wines are intently crafted to capture the character of each vintage, in all its complexity and facets. In fact, the character and intricacies of each individual vintage are so important to the estate that since vintage 2006, Winemaker and Estate Director Axel Heinz has identified a single word that captures the character of each vintage, and that word is interpreted by a contemporary artist who produces special labels and a site-specific work of art that remains part of the estate’s permanent collection.
In addition to its place among Italy’s iconic wines, Ornellaia is also an ambassador for the Bolgheri region, leading it to be recognized as one of Italy’s greatest winegrowing regions. It is their belief, and it is hard to argue, that Bogheri’s mild maritime climate and diversity of soils create wines as distinct, complex and pleasurable as any in the world.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
An outstanding wine region made famous by Marchese Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, who planted Cabernet Sauvignon vines for his own consumption in 1940s on his San Guido estate, and called the resulting wine, Sassicaia. Today the region’s Tuscan reds are based on Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, which can be made as single varietal wines or blends. The local Sangiovese can make up no more than 50% of the blends. Today Sassicaia has its own DOC designation within the Bogheri DOC appellation.