2018: A TRANSPARENT VINTAGE
We like to define the 2018 vintage as a TRANSPARENT vintage, wanting to capture the meaning of this term that refers to this vintage’s great capacity to let the uniqueness and the characteristics of the lands where the wines originated transpire in each bottle. In the concept of valorization, which is at the heart of our productive philosophy, several factors come into play: HUMAN EXPERIENCE, CLIMATE AND THE TERRAIN. We believe that the 2018 vintage clearly and distinctly brings out the third component, the TERRAIN, having been, in complete contrast to the latest vintages, a cooler and slightly rainier than average vintage in which the climate did not have a uniform standardizing effect but, on the contrary, let the features of the different soil types where the grapes originated “transpire” in the wine. Daring to make a comparison, the 2018 presents as a mix centered around the elegance and the tension between the fresh 2018 vintage and the classic 2013 vintage, creating a perfect balance between the two which translates into freshness, minerality, and tannin length without neglecting fullness and depth: a perfect mix to classify 2018 as a wine for long ageing and also of great pleasure that pairs extremely well.
In every vintage, there are two turning points, crucial moments which characterize the final result, its identity, and its main qualities: moments without which the results would have been very different. The turning point in the 2018 vintage came before the harvest when the Grecale and Tramontana winds from the north and northeast started blowing continuously and strongly, concentrating the grapes which, until that moment, had been slightly above average in weight after the rains in September. These conditions resulted in the drying and loss of a percentage of water that balanced the technological and phenolic maturation, ensuring optimal balance and maturation while preserving the acidity at the same time. Sunny days with significant diurnal temperature ranges during the harvest ensured an aromatic profile in the grapes that was floral and elegant, fresh and balsamic, that connects with a vibrant and full palate, long and sapid that plays on pleasantness and balance. The practice of reducing the bunches, removing those that were behind in maturation, in addition to a meticulous selection on the sorting table in the cellar guaranteed concentration and optimal phenolic maturation in the grapes that were brought into the cellar.
The harvest, precisely for of its quality of freshness, started a little later than the trend in previous years, during a period of cooler temperatures from September 28 to October 5.
The 2018 harvest was the first in the new Canalicchio di Sopra cellar, which was inaugurated specifically for the harvest.
