Chardonnay

A harvest with dual results after a particularly cool August.

Hot August.

The cycle of hot dry harvests begins.

A vintage distinguished by dry winter and spring with very hot August. White wines are hot.

Almost perfect vintage for whites with ideally bright hot July and August.

A cooler summer (as in 2004) provided very good fruity full white wines for slow maturation.

Winter and spring with very little rain. Low production and very good quality in contrast with the rest of Italy. Better white than red wines.

More rain than usual refreshed some of the harvest, resulting in whites with great fruit and structure.

Cold wet winter and spring were a perfect preparation for the vines, harvest began 15 days late with cool temperate weather.Very fresh whites.

Abundant spring and winter rain perfectly prepared the vineyards for summer and autumn ripening. The surprisingly fresh and cool temperatures of July, August and September achieved the rest, with the grapes arriving at the winery in perfect condition.

A rainy late-autumn and low temperatures, though not excessively so, have laid strong basis to a good vintage . The vines were able to rest in well-soaked soil. After a rainy winter the spring was particularly cool and dry. A mild summer provided for excellent ripening of both white and red grapes. The 2006 vintage has been excellent with regard to the quality of the grapes. The grapes are sound, the yield generally about 10% down.This vintage can be described as luminous and sunny. The whites are rich, creamy, and well-defined by type of grape.

A brief description of the weather preceding the 2007 harvest is essential. We were cheered in 2006 by an autumn finishing with good October rain that prepared the vines well for their autumn and winter rest. A relatively mild winter followed with temperatures that were never very low and a lower than average rainfall. A weather pattern that coincided with the rest of Italy, with the difference that mild winters are the norm in our area. This winter did make us fear for the summer reserves of water, but then in spring an unusually plentiful rainfall covered the whole of our region until the beginning of May. This is why in Sicily we had no expectations of an early vintage but, until mid-July, we were thinking rather of a late vintage. From July onwards, the most important time for deciding quality, the weather was particularly propitious. After two short but intense heatwaves, typical for the period from 20th July to 15th August, it stayed fine, temperatures stabilized, and persistent high pressure presented us with a vintage with no rainfall the first slight shower arrived on 25th September! and with amazing maturation. For those who enjoy comparisons, in our reckoning the recent years most similar to 2007, in Sicily, are 1997 and 2001.

The 2008 vintage ended on Saturday, 4th October. Late in autumn and during winter 2008, rains were just below standard; temperatures, instead, were within seasonal average. Spring confirmed what had happened previously, no abundant rains; the last one, at the end of April, was decisive for the quality of grapes. Therefore, grapes had a fresh and dry climate all the way to the harvesting, without any excessive heat, but with ideal temperatures for ripening. grapes were absolutely wholesome, and did not need to undergo any phytosanitary defence interventions. The result was a superb vintage, the indigenous varieties are absolutely excellent. White wines thanks to the lack of thermal excesses are full-bodied and well balanced and perfectly aromatic. Grecanico wine is particularly excellent, just as the early varieties Chardonnay and Viogner. Fiano wine will get back to its highest quality, such as the 2001 vintage.

The climatic conditions prevailing during the 2010 harvest were particularly favourable. In 2009 the autumn finished with abundant rainfall, ideal for setting the vines to rest. The winter had normal temperatures and not too much rain. The spring was also average, with rain at the end. The summer began with cooler temperatures until the middle of August, when the temperature then rose to assist perfect ripening. Around 20th September rain assisted the harvest at Vittoria. On the other hand the beginning of summer on Etna was fairly dry but the rains at the end of September were useful and prolonged the harvest until 21st October. Might 2010 be one of the best vintages out of the previous ten? It is early to say but it is certainly a super vintage.

We began on 16th August and finished on 21st October, 66 days of almost uninterrupted harvesting. The climatic conditions prevailing during the 2010 harvest were particularly favourable. In 2009 the autumn finished with abundant rainfall, ideal for setting the vines to rest. The winter had normal temperatures and not too much rain. The spring was also average, with rain at the end. The summer began with cooler temperatures until the middle of August, when the temperature then rose to assist perfect ripening. Western Sicily: Menfi and Sambuca. A fine consistent harvest, thanks to an almost perfect summer and autumn. The healthiest grapes and the amount produced in line with recent years. The whites, thanks to a cool July and first half of August, are very well balanced and with exciting aromatic profiles, particularly the early varieties such as Chardonnay and Viognier. The harvest at Sambuca di Sicilia was completed on 28th September with the Grecanico which offers elegance and balance.

The climatic indicators of 2011 had forecast, on a global level, a classic winter with precipitations below average, which after the last few winters with their copious rainfalls had us a little worried. But then in the spring the situation changed; copious rain fell even relatively late in the season and prepared the vineyards to perfection. The summer was hot without being excessively so, and the grapes were able to ripen without a flaw.

The harvest here registered a sharp drop in production of the early varieties such as Chardonnay and Viognier, an amazing quality especially for Nero d'Avola and Syrah as well as Cabernet Franc, which are rich and varietal with an excellent tannic structure. The harvest was completed with the harvest of Grecanico, a variety that prefers drier weather. For this reason, the grapes are fully intact thanks to a climate free of moisture.

Beautiful white wines, produced by a cool and bright July and August. A richer Chardonnay without more alcohol. A super-aromatic Fiano and average Grecanico. The reds, Merlot and Cabernet, benefitted from a cooler harvest with a thick dense tannin structure, thanks to extended ripening. Syrah prefers a dry September and is rather less than excellent. Nero d’Avola is fresh and fruity as rarely before.

A great vintage for two perfectly combined reasons: a rainier spring than the average for the past ten years, especially in June, and therefore vines that face the summer stress-free, and a rain-free period of ripening of the grapes with July, August and September completely dry. To say the least, these are the ideal temperatures and quantity of light, with July cooler since 2004; on the contrary, the brightest September (since 2007) and, to best complete the ripening of the reds, the absolute hottest of the series analyzed. The perfect vintage!

A year which enhanced the indigenous varieties, particularly Grecanico, very aromatic, and a glorious Nero d’Avola with fruit, density and compact tannins as never before. Fiano is good, Chardonnay more consistent. Merlot and Syrah at their peak, thanks to the weather. The Cabernet is perhaps slightly rigid.

At Menfi in the south-west had little rainfall and temperatures slightly colder than 2015, followed by a beautiful spring with rain in March and showers generally, which prepared the vines well. The cooler summer with average temperatures between June and September being well below those of 2015 contributed to a fine harvest. The result has been aromatic and balanced white wines with Chardonnay, Grecanico and Grillo peaking in quality, and the big French reds with particularly dense and ample tannins thanks to long slow ripening. Nero d’Avola in particular, thanks also to the lower production, is very aromatic and colourful.