2004 Le Volte dell’Ornellaia

“Our last three vintages could not have been more different,” explains General Manager/Agronomist Leonardo Raspini. “For us 2004 was a terrific vintage, one that combines very high quality with quantity. It may sound hard to believe but here those two go hand in hand. The weather throughout the summer and into the fall was very stable which allowed us to pick each parcel at the optimum level of ripeness. We are happy with all of our wins, from top to bottom.” “2003 was of course a very hot vintage. Other than leaving as much leaf cover as possible there wasn't much we could do. It was an exceedingly dry summer although we did get a little rain in mid-September which helped the later-ripening Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Unfortunately the Merlot was too far along in its maturation for the rain to have any effect. Because we had better results with our Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc in 2003 Ornellaia contains a higher percentage of those varietals. It was an even more challenging vintage for Merlot. For our Massseto we were only able to use the oldest, central part of the vineyard. That said, the vines held up well and our harvest was only a week or so earlier than normal. Relative to other vintages the polyphenol readings were lower than usual so we did slightly longer fermentations to try to extract as a much as possible from the fruit. Our overall production was down about 30%.” “Vintage 2002 was a different story altogether. The summer, especially August, was very rainy. It was clear pretty early on that we wouldn't be able to make the kind of wines we like most, those that express the power of Bolgheri. So we opted for a more varietal expression in the wines. In the cellar our vinifications were pretty much in line with what we do most years. We made our biggest adjustments in the aging of the wines, leaving the wines in oak for a shorter time than is normally the case.” In a similar vein, the 2002 and 2003 vintages demonstrate why Masseto is Italy's most consistently outstanding Merlot. Neither vintage presented anything resembling ideal conditions yet the wines have turned out beautifully. The estate's 2002s show why Tenuta dell”Ornellaia is one of Italy's premier properties. Those obsessed with points will chase the higher rated 2003s and 2004s, but consumers who buy wines to drink them would do well to consider these 2002s especially given that pricing should be favorable. The 2002s are by no means the equal of the estate's top wines but they will offer useful drinking while the more important vintages reach maturity.