The bunches were hand-picked into 15 kg bins, and the fruit was carefully graded and selected on a double sorting table, before and after destemming, After a light crushing, each variety and vineyard block was vinified separately giving birth to a total of 51 different base wines each interpreting the considerable diversity of the Estate’s terroirs.. A week-long fermentation was carried out at 26-30°C in stainless steel, followed by a maceration of 18 days. Malolactic fermentation took place in oak barrels (70% new and 30% once used). The wine remained in barriques in the temperature controlled cellars of Tenuta dell’Ornellaia for a total period of 18 months. After the first 12 months the master blend was made. The wine was then re-introduced into barrique where it spent the remaining 6 months, followed by 12 months in the bottle prior to release.