2014 Ornellaia Le Serre Nuove
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Tasting notes
I tasted this second wine of Ornellaia from a difficult vintage just after a succession of red bordeaux to see how this Maremma Bordeaux blend – admittedly much more expensive – would shape up and it looked pretty snazzy. In no way is this a concentrated vintage but this 2014 has Italian brio and tang and beautifully handled tannins. The product of relative young vines, this particular vintage is for early drinking but it does taste luxurious. Wonderful persistence and restraint. (JR)
Critic scores
Monica Larner, Wine Advocate
Walter Speller, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
Merlot with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and a tiny bit of Petit Verdot. Mid crimson with orange tinges. A tiny bit stalky on the nose and with hints of tobacco leaf, but otherwise still a little closed. Fragrant, medium-bodied fruit with quite fierce, bitter tannins. Beats me why you would add Petit Verdot in this very cool vintage. (WS)
The 2014 Bolgheri Rosso Le Serre Nuove is a lush and well measured red wine that does not shy back in terms of intensity. Neither does it overachieve in that department. This blend of 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, 50% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc and 7% Petit Verdot marches to a steady pace with good fruit definition followed by spice, leather and fresh tobacco leaf. The wine does flaunt its youth and charm. There is a touch of tannic tightness or sourness on the close that should relax within a year or two.
The 2014 Le Serre Nuove dell'Ornellaia offers good depth and pluminess for the year, but the challenges of the harvest are impossible to escape. Dried cherry, tobacco, licorice, worn-in leather and smoke give the wine its forward personality. I would prefer to drink the 2014 sooner rather than later.
About the producer
Based in the foothills of Bolgheri, Ornellaia is one of the original Super Tuscans, making some of Italy’s finest Cabernet blends. Created by Lodovico Antinori, today the estate is owned by the Frescobaldi family, which also owns sibling property Masseto.