Ornellaia Bianco was born alongside the great Ornellaia wine and translates the essence of the estate's terroir into the
luminous language of the sun and the sea of Bolgheri. Small vineyards secretly guard its balance until
harvest and then challenge time by expressing an elegant and slender complexity.
NOTES FROM THE WINEMAKER
100% Sauvignon Blanc Alc. : 13% vol.
“Ornellaia Bianco 2020, with its intense straw yellow colour, opens in the glass showing off notes of pulpy fruit
yellow accompanied by aromas of white flowers and vanilla. A harmonious and complex nuance that excites everyone
foray into the glass. In the mouth the wine shows great freshness, but at the same time an elegant creaminess that is rewarding
the taste is enveloping, pleasant and persistent.”
Olga Fusari – Winemaker – March 2022
THE CLIMATE OF 2020
After a mild and rainy winter, March saw a temporary drop in temperatures with some
night below 0°C right at the beginning of budding, in the last week of the month. Luckily the sprouts
as soon as they blossomed they were still protected by the cottony tissue of the bud without suffering damage from the frost. The rest
of spring saw generally warm weather with normal rainfall, ensuring regular
vegetative development until flowering which occurred on average between 20 and 25 May. June saw a
heavy rainfall towards the middle of the month, followed by a very long period of drought with
substantial absence of rain and scorching temperatures until the end of August. The veraison took place in style
homogeneous and fast between 20 and 25 July, starting the ripening of the grapes under a blazing sun. There
harvesting began even before August 13th, on August 13th, and ended on August 24th. Early harvesting e
the absence of marked water stress, thanks to the abundant rainfall in June, made it possible to express
a beautiful aromatic typicality of Sauvignon.
VINIFICATION AND AGING
The grapes were harvested by hand in 15 kg boxes in the early hours of the morning and immediately cooled
upon arrival in the cellar to keep all the aromatic potential intact. After careful selection of the bunches
whole were subjected to slow and soft pressing with maximum attention to protection against
oxidation. After a static decantation of approximately 24 hours, the musts were placed entirely in wood, for the
25% new and 75% used, to carry out alcoholic fermentation at temperatures not exceeding 22°C. Beyond
320 and 600 liter cigars and tonneaux were used for the 225 liter barriques. It was not carried out
malolactic fermentation. Maturation continued for 10 months on the lees with periodic bâtonnage for
the entire period and ended in steel tanks for another 2 months. It was made before bottling
the assembly of the various batches and a light clarification. The wine was then subjected to further refinement
in bottles aged 6 months before being released on the market.