Ornellaia
2017 will go down in history as being one of the hottest and driest years ever. Things were clear from the start due to a particularly mild winter, with temperatures more than three degrees above the seasonal average and rainfall within the norm. Consequently, the vines sprouted much earlier than usual, almost two weeks in advance. The vegetative cycle was accompanied by warm weather, with very little rain from March onwards, interrupted by a sharp drop in temperatures at the end of April, which caused frost in various parts of Tuscany. Thanks to the dampening effects of the sea, temperatures remained above freezing along the coast, preventing damage to the young shoots. Hot, dry weather returned in May, limiting vegetative development and bunch size, while flowering occurred under excellent conditions. In July and August there was practically no rain, but fortunately the hot weather was compensated by cooler temperatures during the night. Harvest started early, with the first Merlot on 24 August, continuing through the last week of September in warm weather and under sunny skies. Rain finally appeared around the middle of the month, cooling things down and creating the perfect conditions for the later maturing varieties.
The bunches were hand-picked into 15kg boxes and then hand-sorted on a double sorting table, before and after destemming, and finally gently crushed. In 2016, in addition to hand sorting, optical sorting was introduced to further increase the quality of the selection. Each grape variety and each vineyard block was vinified separately. Fermentation took place in stainless steel and concrete vats at temperatures below 25°C for a week, followed by maceration for around 10-15 days, for a total time in the vat of around three weeks. Malolactic fermentation took place mainly in oak barrels, 70% new and 30% after use. The wine then remained in barrels in Ornellaia’s temperature-controlled cellars for about 18 months. After the first 12 months of maturation, the wine was assembled and then returned to the barrels for a further 6 months. After bottling, the wine was aged for a further 12 months before being released.
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Allergens information
Contains sulphites.
SKU: 101609
