Articolo disponibile anche in: Italian
With the new wine in the cellars, the Vignaioli di Radda association (Radda winemakers), which brings together the majority of the producers of Gallo Nero wines in the Radda in Chianti territory, assesses the 2018 harvest and makes a “prediction” about its quality.
“Now that we’re at the end of this year’s production process – the Vignaioli write – we can make an initial assessment of this difficult harvest. Thanks to the cold and rainy winter, in 2017, we had a good water reserve. Even if it wasn’t necessary, it rained a lot in spring too”.
“Almost all the vineyards in the Radda territory – they continue – are organically cultivated, and these continuous rains have kept us busy, trying to control the grass growth and fungal diseases”.
“It was thanks to prompt interventions in the treatments – they claim – and the good communication between the various wine producers regarding the various problems, that we arrived at the summer with good leafage and healthy grapes ready for ripening”.
They continue: “We had a rather hot July, and abundant rain throughout August and the first week of September, with frequent storms, sometimes very violent. This is part of climate change, with which we must confront, now and in the future. There was much concern among us winemakers, because the Sangiovese grapes were swollen with water and here and there was some rotting and botrytis”.
But now for the turning point: “Since September 20th everything has changed, with the north wind that dried the grapes favouring the end of the phenolic ripening and the increase in the sugar content. Of course, during the harvest we had to select the best grapes, but the harvest was abundant and of excellent quality”.
“So – they conclude – the wines of 2018 will be wines with notable alcohol concentration but with the elegance that distinguishes the wines of Radda in Chianti”.
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