Ornellaia was established by Marchese Lodovico Antinori of the Antinori family. The property is adjacent to Tenuta San Guido, producer of Sassicaia. The vineyards of the estate were planted in 1981, producing the first vintage in 1985.[A modern winery was built in 1987. Lodovico Antinori’s cousin Nicolò Incisa’s owns Sassicaia, and his older brother Piero owns Tignanello/Solaia.
The estate also produces a second wine, Le Serre Nuove, which uses the same grape varietal but Le Serre Nuove has more Merlot in its blend. They also produce an entry level wine called Le Volte, which is blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sangiovese as well as a super premium Merlot wine called Masseto .
Robert Mondavi Winery took a minority interest in the estate in November 1999, and became full owners by 2002. They then partnered with the Frescobaldi family. Constellation Brands bought Robert Mondavi in around 2004 and then sold their interest in Ornellaia to the Frescobaldi family in 2005. Axel Heinz is the current winemaker with Michel Rolland as a consultant for the winery.
The winery is about 90 hectares with about 38 hectares of Cab Sauvignon and Merlot and the remainder of the winery planted with Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.
The 2017 vintage is a blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot and 9% Cabernet Franc. The wine is aged in 70% new and 30% once-used oak barriques for 18 months. After bottling, the wine aged a further 12 months prior to release.
Wine Spectator rated this wine 94 points.
For more information about this winery, please visit their website at