Tasting the Ornellaia Le Volte & Le Serre Nuove '09 and Ornellaia '03 and '08

Tasting the Ornellaia Le Volte & Le Serre Nuove '09 and Ornellaia '03 and '08

After taking us through a barrel tasting of the 2010 Tuscan iconic Merlot Masseto that you can view here in our first video, Oenologist Axel Hines guided a tasting of their Le Volte, Le Serre Nouve, and finally, the Tuscan superstar Bordeaux blend Ornellaia Ornellaia.

The Le Volte is simply a wonderful introduction to their highly affordable everyday wine, with lively fruits and a blend of Merlot, Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon. The Le Serre Nuove, the Ornellaia second wine and a blend that contains about 50% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, is a step up, with more power yet retaining its finesse. Make no mistake that the Le Serre Nuove is a serious wine, capable of aging for a good decade in the better vintages.

Finally, we compared the '08 and '03 flagship Ornellaia Ornellaia, emphasizing its Cabernet Sauvignon with lesser amounts of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The '03, a warm vintage and one that flies under the radar screen, produced a rich and jammy wine with a higher than usual percentage of Cabernet Franc and slightly heftier tannins. It's delicious and can approached now and for the next 5-8 years. The '08 vintage, while starting off cool and rainy, transitioned into a hot summer then cooling as harvest time approached, producing ideal conditions for grape ripening. The result is a gorgeous wine, big and muscular with everything in balance. This is a serious wine that should age for another 15-20 years.

This Marchesi de'Frescobaldi estate just continues to fire on all cylinders.