Ornus dell Ornellaia Toscana IGT 2017 (375 ml)

Ornellaia pioneered the planting of Petit Manseng on the Tuscan coast — a variety with no precedent in Bolgheri and no connection to the estate's Bordeaux-driven identity — producing Ornus only in select vintages from the single Palmetta micro-vineyard within the estate. The site sits at 50–120 m asl on composite soils of marine sediment, clay, marl, and calcareous rock, with Tyrrhenian Sea breezes moderating the ripening curve and preserving the acidity that keeps a wine of ~115 g/L residual sugar from collapsing into sweetness. In 2017 — one of the hottest, driest years on record in Bolgheri — smaller, more compact berries concentrated sugars and aromatic intensity to an exceptional degree, making the vintage particularly suited to late-harvest production. Lots are pressed separately and fermented in 100% new French oak barriques at no more than 22°C, with fermentation arrested at the desired sugar-to-alcohol ratio; malolactic fermentation is deliberately blocked, preserving the grape's native tartaric acidity as a structural counterweight to residual sugar. The wine then ages 12 months in those same new-oak barriques, followed by a further 12 months of bottle age before release. The special feature here is categorical: no other Super Tuscan estate produces a late-harvest Petit Manseng, and annual production is capped at approximately 2,000 half-bottles. The 2017 heat vintage delivers a particularly dense, glyceric expression — drink now through the late 2020s.