Stellar in the Cellar: Le Serre Nuove

The wines of Ornellaia are icons of the Bolgheri region, and though Italian wine history is long and winding this wine label, and frankly the region itself are in their infancy.

The Bolgheri wines are a blend of typically Bordeaux varieties and Sangiovese, and they like many new world wines gained attention by knocking off the old guard, when in 1974 an aged bottle of Sassicaia beat out an assortment of Bordeaux first growths in a Decanter tasting. It is also the epicenter of the wines called Super Tuscan.

The profile of the region skyrocketed, and has come to increase over time, with the establishment of the DOC in 1994. Prior to this fairly recent fame, the region had long been known for producing mediocre white and pink wines, while other parts of Tuscany remained famous Sangiovese producers.

The Ornellaia label is one of less than a half dozen of the most revered Super Tuscan producers in Bolgheri and it was not established until the early 1980s by the famed Antinori family. Famous families became synonymous with Ornellaia with Robert Mondavi acquiring the winery before the current proprietors; the Marchesi de' Frescobaldi family came to full ownership in 2005.

The Ornellaia wine is an icon of Italian wine, and it's priced that way, usually over $200 for a current release, which makes the baby Ornellaia if you will, the Le Serre Nuove, translated as The New Greenhouses, an opportunity to glimpse the gorgeous nature of these Super Tuscan wines, at a still serious, but much more approachable price tag.

The 2015 Le Serre Nuove, so named because the wine is typically made from the highest quality young vines  the estate is a blend of 64% Merlot, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 9% Petit Verdot. The bottle is meant to be a true "second vin" in the Bordeaux style. A wine that hints at the reputation of the esteemed label but often without as much structure or polish. This bottling though, at a relative bargain price is an exceptional wine on its own. ($75)


The wine offers fantastic aromatics of dried fig and berry compote balanced by white pepper and mocha notes. The palate is undeniably elegant, and over the course of the evening evolves from leather and tobacco notes to a dark fruit core draped in sappy black cherry and surprisingly vibrant finish.