Ornellaia Bolgheri Superiore 2006 Magnum

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.