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Even the 4,000 euro reserve price for the first lot, a collector's box with one bottle each from the vintages 2001 to 2006, indicated the direction this auction would take. The Ornellaia winery auctioned the third collection of their Vendemmia d'Artista series, whose décor was designed by German artist Rebecca Horn, at the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin on 19 May. With a total of nine lots on offer, the auction achieved a record result of 130,000 euros, all of which was donated to the Verein der Freunde der Nationalgalerie.

The second lot was also remarkable, one of a total of ten double magnums, each with an individual artist's label, and thus the first item from the artist's series to be auctioned that evening. The bottle went for a previously hardly expected 8,000 euros, a sum that was not significantly exceeded by the next lots with two and three double magnums (9,000 euros and 12,000 euros). Things got interesting again from lot 6, one of three six-litre imperial bottles, which in addition to the label had a wrapping of copper wire with mirrors. This lot fetched 12,000 euros, the following one, which in addition to the Imperial included a lunch for four people at the winery, 15,000 euros. The penultimate lot of the evening consisted of a double magnum and an Imperial as well as an invitation to an event of the Monntower Foundation, founded by the artist, and went under the hammer for 18,000 euros.

Lot 8: Imperial and double magnum. (Photo: Ornellaia)

Finally, the last lot was eagerly awaited. It was the only Salmanazar bottle produced in the series, a nine-litre behemoth, again enclosed in copper wire and Spiegel and this time without a label at all. Considering that this bottle is a unique piece and therefore something like an independent work by the artist, the asking price of 40,000 euros could soon prove to be a worthwhile investment.

Rebecca Horn, who comes from Michelstadt in the Odenwald, already made a name for herself as an outstanding artist in the early 1970s. As a filmmaker, sculptor and action artist, she is difficult to pin down to one style. For the 2008 vintage of Ornellaia's "Vendemmia d'Artista" series, Rebecca Horn designed a kinetic sculpture made of copper with mirror elements and goblets, which she quotes on the individual labels and with the wire edgings of the larger bottle formats. The sculpture itself can be admired in the wine cellar of Tenuta dell'Ornellaia.

Lot 2: Double magnum with artist's label. (Photo: Ornellaia)

2008 is the third vintage of the Vendemmia d'Artista, the idea for which was born on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of "Ornellaia", which was celebrated with the 2005 vintage. With this project, Ornellaia wants to make "the tradition and value of commissioned art come alive in a contemporary way", as the winery says. Each vintage of Ornellaia is given a title based on its character, from which the respective commissioned artist is supposed to draw inspiration in his or her work for the winery. In the first year, 2006, the theme was "L'Esuberanza" (exuberance), in 2007 "L'Armonia" (harmony) and now in 2008 "L'Energia" (energy). Before Rebecca Horn, the artist Ghada Amer, who was born in Cairo and now lives in New York, was commissioned to design the Vendemmia d'Artista for 2007, as was Luigi Ontani for 2006, who has been internationally renowned since the 1960s.

The Tenuta dell'Ornellaia winery was founded in 1981 by Ludovico Antinori not far from Bolgheri near the Ligurian coast. The first vintage of Ornellaia was the '85. The fathers of this red wine, which was often beguilingly flattering at the time, were the famous oenologists André Tchelistcheff and Michel Rolland in addition to Antinori, and the wines quickly acquired an excellent reputation in the wine world. Later, the Hungarian oenologist Tibor Gál, who was also not unknown, was responsible for the cellar. Since Tibor Gál's tragic death, Axel Heinz, born in Munich and educated in Bordeaux, took over as the house's production director and oenologist. In 2002, Ornellaia was initially sold in equal shares to the two large wine groups Mondavi and Frescobaldi. After Mondavi's takeover by Constellation Brands, Frescobaldi also bought the other half of the winery.

Lot 9: Salmanazar% enclosed in copper wire and Spiegel. (Photo: Ornellaia)

The style of Ornellaia's wines changed over the years, which can probably also be attributed to the respective age of the vines. While the wines were often decidedly fruity and charming at the beginning, there was a period in the early 90s when the vintages were firmer, more austere and sometimes even more severe. From around the mid-90s, the wines combined concentration and juiciness with the necessary seriousness, depth and complexity of real top red wines - and with the increasing age of the vines and growing experience at the winery, the development has continued ever since. So it is certainly not just marketig Latin when cellarmaster Axel Heiz describes the last vintages as his most successful.

The best examples of the Ornellaia, which is always made from Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot, are now among the great Bordeaux blends of all. The introduction of the second wine "Le Serre Nuove" as well as the third brand "Le Volte" has certainly contributed to the increase in quality of Ornellaia in recent years. Le Volte is a flatterer that is somewhat reminiscent of Ornellaia's beginnings, though without reaching its stature. Le Serre Nuove is obviously very much in the tradition of second wines from top Bordeaux houses: although it is a little earlier to drink and not quite as expressive as Ornellaia, it also has class and character. A speciality of the house is the rare "Massetto", a single-varietal Merlot from the vineyard of the same name single vineyard. It was first vinified in 1987 and quickly became one of the most sought-after and most expensive wines from this variety.

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