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The Ornellaia estate was established in 1981 near the town of Bolgheri, a municipality in the province of Livorno, on the coast of Tuscany.

Today, the property is owned by a holding controlled by the Frescobaldi group and called “Tenute di Toscana” – it was created in 1981 in Bolgheri by the Marquis Lodovico Antinori.

The extraordinary wine vocation of the Bolgheri area was not so evident at that time, but thanks to the suggestions of the legendary winemaker like André Tchelistcheff, Antinori planted his first vineyard; he also knew, thanks to the experience of his cousin with Sassicaia – the Marquis Niccolò Incisa della Rocchetta – that the Bordeaux vines would successfully thrive in that very microclimate. The uniqueness of those locations was already described by the great Italian poet Giosuè Carducci, who celebrated the monumental avenue of cypresses (Cupressus sempervirens L.) reaching the town of Bolgheri, in his famous poem “Davanti San Guido”.

That location is a true ecological rarity: located near the sea and protected by the surrounding hills, it benefits from the ideal microclimate that creates perfect ripening conditions. A gentle breeze blows from the sea towards the hinterland and helps mitigate the summer heat, while the hills protect it from cold winds in winter.
The soil of alluvial, volcanic and marine origin is distributed in a most unique texture: classic grape varieties appreciated all over the world (Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Petit Verdot) have thus found their perfect habitat.
All the above mentioned excellent features contribute to the development of a thriving Mediterranean scrub as well.

Only in 1987 the Ornellaia estate finally was fitted with its own cellar: the construction caused a stir as the structure was very modern, architecturally audacious, but hidden in a basin in the middle of the vineyards, with no impact whatsoever on the environment.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)