ORNELLAIA 2006 “L’ESUBERANZA”
- BOLGHERI DOC SUPERIORE
The desire to nurture the Estate’s exceptional qualities has shaped Ornellaia’s philosophy since the beginning.
Ornellaia is a cuvée of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc & Petit Verdot and the faithful expression
of unique terroir developed in harmony with nature.

WINEMAKER’S TASTING NOTES
56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot
“The main characteristic of Ornellaia 2006 is without a doubt its lush depth and ‘exuberance’ (“L’Esuberanza”). Here is a
powerful, concentrated wine whose intensity is immediately obvious. Its complex, rich bouquet is complemented by sweet,
dense-packed tannins and a lively acidity, and all of its components are in admirable harmony creating a very elegant wine.”
Axel Heinz - May 2009

THE 2006 GROWING SEASON
The winter of 2006 was cold and wet enough that budbreak was delayed despite the hot spring days that
followed, and full bloom only arrived in the first week of June. The usual vigor of the buds was accompanied
by good productivity that did require moderate pruning, in the younger vineyards as well; a moderate pruning
of this kind is indicative of good balance between vegetative growth and fruit production. During the summer
there was almost no rainfall on the Tuscan coast. Fortunately, the temperatures never became excessive, and
this allowed the vines to develop good aromatic potentials. At the beginning of the harvest the grapes were
perfect: concentrated and uniformly ripe. The sunny, well ventilated days at the beginning of September
allowed us to harvest the Merlot and Cabernet Franc at just the right moment. The steady rains that fell on
September 15 and 16 slowed the ripening of the Cabernet Sauvignon, though a wait of a few days was
sufficient to allow the grapes to reach perfect ripeness and make their journey to the cellars, where the harvest
ended late in the afternoon of 4 October.

VINIFICATION AND AGEING
Selecting only the best quality fruit in the vineyards, the clusters were carefully hand-picked into small, 15-kg
boxes and transported to the winery where a second quality selection was carried out on a double sorting table,
both before and after the grapes were de-stemmed. The grapes were then given a gentle pressing, and each
separate grape variety and each vineyard block was fermented separately, for a total of 66 different base wines.
The wines remained in barriques for 18 months in Ornellaia’s temperature controlled cellars. After 12
months, the final blend was assembled from the base wines, and underwent six months of further ageing in
barriques. The wine was then aged for 12 months in the bottle before release.