Vineyards Magazine

The sun has just started to light up the vineyard and the harvesting teams are already busily gathering the first few bunches that will become the estate’s reds. One by one, the bunches are placed in 15-kilogram crates and, in under an hour, they will be escorted to the cellar, where they will be selected for a second time on the sorting table before passing through the optical sorter and embarking on their journey to become part of the Ornellaia legacy.

“The harvest is always a wonderful and crucial time,” remarks Marco Balsimelli, Production Director at Ornellaia, “but every time of the year is important in the vineyard. 2024 has been both positive and challenging. Between March and June, frequent rainfall replenished the water reserves, while every vineyard parcel required constant care, which naturally is what we gave them.”

The summer arrived suddenly at the end of June, giving Bolgheri two months of sunshine and dry weather, which provided optimal conditions for the vines. “The arrival of the hot weather enabled us to reverse a difficult situation, laying the foundations for a fantastic vintage. In mid July and early August especially, we had 20 days of very intense heat,” explains Balsimelli. “This context of slight water stress allowed the vegetative growth to stop and saw the beginning of the actual ripening process with a concentration of sugar, aromas and polyphenols.”

Completing the perfect summer, the microclimate at Ornellaia ensured cool breezy nights for the vineyards with temperatures between 19 and 22 degrees Celsius. Lastly, on August 15, the Italian midsummer holiday, between 10 and 20 millimetres of rain brought relief to the vines. “It was timely because the rain restarted the ripening, giving the grapes just the right profile.”

Lamberto Frescobaldi, President of Frescobaldi, to which Ornellaia belongs, is delighted by the end result. “The grapes were perfectly healthy and ripe upon picking. The Sauvignon Blanc grapes, which were harvested on separate occasions between 12 and 30 August, are already fermenting in the cellar, and now it’s time to continue with the other white grapes as well as our red grapes. Meticulous attention to detail and a dedication to the vineyards – more than 700 hours of manual labour per hectare every years – rewards us with the admirable equilibrium of the vines that never fail to convey the profoundly unique terroir of Ornellaia in sync with the vintage.”

Given that first parcels of Merlot began to be picked in the last few days, the harvest is expected to continue until early October, culminating in the final bunches of Cabernet Sauvignon.