HARVEST DIARIES
Tuscany ITALY
175887_San Polo Diaries_2014_A5_01_12_2014_UK.indd 1
10/12/14 10:00
MONTALCINO: ENDLESS HORIZONS
IN A DIFFICULT VINTAGE THE LAND AND MAN MAKE THE DIFFERENCE
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An unusually warm winter encouraged early budding with a consequent high risk of frost damage. During spring, rain and relatively high temperatures seemed to provide ideal conditions for the proliferation of the spores that cause downy mildew. Rainfall continued until the beginning of September. September The The lack lack of of light slowed the ripening process, cancelling out, day on day, the phenological properties accumulated during the month of May. a difficult vintage, certainly, but a bad one? No, quite the contrary. It is in vintages such as this one that the land and people make the difference, to the point where it is possible to achieve unimaginable degrees of quality where already supremely well-suited terroir is tended with painstaking care. The south-easterly side of Montalcino is one such place, a unique and extraordinarily prestigious parcel; exposure, altitude and the nature of the soil appear to have been purposely designed for Sangiovese, the master architect of wines that are famous worldwide. Not surprisingly, Brunello was born here, a few hundred metres from San Polo. 2014 is the first year in which our vineyards have been tended entirely in accordance with the principles of organic farming and, in Montalcino, it was the wettest year in the last 74 years. Maybe this is just as well, because we were even more motivated to give our very best. A big thank-you goes to the members of staff for their excellent work: the early leaf thinning, the early and extremely careful selection of buds to allow for better ventilation, the thinning of the clusters before veraison that was so essential this year to ensure balanced production, stimulated by the intense rainfall. And all the treatments, sometimes carried out on a Sunday or at night. Vintage 2014 demanded great faith and team spirit to ensure a calm attitude when, threatened by bad weather, we decided to break the mould and wait, while everyone else in Montalcino was already harvesting. Giacomo and I have never walked around the vineyards as much as we
did this year, but now I can say that all those kilometres were worthwhile, along with the precision and attention to detail, which enabled us to maintain all the qualitative potential of the grapes during winemaking. Thank-you to Stefania, Gaia, Alice, Costa, Gabriele and Jacopo for having managed a very rapid and intense vintage in the cellar and for having been very flexible in adapting to all the rapid changes in the scheduling of the pumpings over, which often became necessary after tasting sessions. Thanks also for the now legendary dĂŠlestage fermentations that occurred during the weekends and for conscientiously following instructions that were sometimes sudden and on impact quite difficult to understand. Thanks to Giacomo, Ago and Raffaello, for bringing the best possible grapes to the cellar and for having got straight back onto the tractors on the day right after the harvest, because nature does not wait and we needed to prepare the vineyards for the arrival of winter and sow green manure (plants grown specifically to benefit the soil). And a thank-you also goes to Catia and Giulia who, although not directly involved in the harvest, supported us (and put up with us!) during this sensitive and hardly ‘stress-free’ period. So let us drink a toast, then, to this challenging and at times difficult vintage 2014, which the land, the expertise and the determination of man have made unique and admirable.
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The annual cycle of the vine can be divided into vegetative and reproductive stages; the first includes weeping, bud formation, bud growth, development of the leaves, the lignification of the canes and leaf fall; the second, on the other hand, concerns bud differentiation, flowering, fruit set, the growth of the fruit and ripening.
PHENOLOGICAL CALENDAR
21 April
07
March Bud formation
Budding
04
June Flowering
July
02
Fruit set
15
July Bunch closure
August
15
Veraison
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September Ripening of the bunch
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SEPTEMBER Friday
02
05 19
Leaf thinning ALL THE VINEYARDS
Sampling of the grapes
Friday
Cluster thinning ALL THE VINEYARDS
Monday
Tuesday
Preventive treatment ALL THE VINEYARDS
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Harvest MONTLUC SUMMIT 460 m (1509 ft) a.s.l.
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Tuesday
Thursday
Harvest MONTLUC SOUTH 435 m (1427 ft) a.s.l.
30
Tuesday
Harvest MONTLUC SUMMIT 460 m (1509 ft) a.s.l.
OCTOBER Tursday
02
.
Harvest SAN POLO SOUTH 420 m (1378 ft) a.s.l.
Saturday
04
Harvest MONTLUC EAST 440 m (1444 ft) a.s.l.
Wednesday
08
Harvest MONTLUC SOUTH 435 m (1427 ft) a.s.l.
01
Wednesday
Harvest SAN POLO WEST 430 m (1411 ft) a.s.l.
03
Friday
Harvest MONTLUC EAST 440 m (1444 ft) a.s.l.
06
Monday
Harvest SAN POLO SUMMIT 450 m (1476 ft) a.s.l.
09
Thursday
Harvest MONTLUC SOUTH 435 m (1427 ft) a.s.l.
10
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01 SEPTEMBER
In the vineyards It’s cold today and the rain makes it impossible for us to work in the vineyards – hardly a welcome start for the new harvesters! In the morning the temperature is 14°C (57°F). In the cellar While we wait to start the harvest, the staff are busy with the usual activities in the cellar: we proceed with filtering the Brunello 2010 before bottling. We can also rely on the valuable help of our interns Jacopo Miolo, Gabriele Venuti, Alice Ermacora and Gaia Cinnirella, who have come to see how we work but also to give us a concrete helping hand during the harvest. Stefania, who works tirelessly on the forklift truck, is intent on organizing the warehouse, moving the pallets to create more space.
Rain
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02 SEPTEMBER Foggy
In the vineyards The weather continues to be very unsettled: the day starts off with a thick fog which, luckily, lifts rapidly above the hill of San Polo, thanks to the constant breezes enjoyed by our vineyards. This vintage is a challenge due to the frequent rainfall, and Giacomo and Ago are constantly busy treating the vines. Today they are working in shifts as they have planned to carry out some preventative treatment against the cochineal insect. When this treatment is carried out at night it ensures the best possible results because it targets the highest possible number of insects. In the cellar Work goes on in the cellar: today we are bottling Brunello 2010, it will soon be time for its official presentation, due to take place next February. Nicola tastes the wine as a final check before proceeding; the final result is really satisfying and we look forward to the success that the new vintage are willwill havehave at Benvenuto at Benvenuto Brunello Brunello 2015. 2015.
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05 In the vineyards Today it’s sunny; in the vineyards, Giacomo and the others men are collecting the first samples of grapes, to assess their degree of ripeness. The operation requires a great deal of care: to ensure that a uniform sample is taken which fully reflects the situation of the vineyards, we chose a precise distribution of rows and vines, but also take into account the position of the berries on the bunches. In addition, in order to collect data on the polyphenolic ripening, it is necessary to detach the grapes with their stems, so the berries are picked individually, with small scissors. Once the samples have been taken, the analysis can begin: the potential alcohol is measured at 12°. So the time is not ripe either, the harvest will have to wait a bit longer!
SEPTEMBER Sunny
In the cellar We are getting ready for an intense working weekend: we are expecting a lot of visitors! In the cellar, we set out the tables and benches in the middle of the passageway between the concrete tanks: tomorrow we are expecting a group of 35 Americans and this is the only space that is big enough to host them all. The atmosphere is very engaging and everyone agrees that this solution should be used more often. Stefania, Costa and e Gabriele Gabrieleare arebusy busymoving movingthe theBrunello Brunello 2013 2013 from the tonneaux to the big barrels: during this new ageing phase which involves the absorption of less oxygen, the organoleptic characteristics are more finely-tuned and enhanced.
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09 SEPTEMBER Sunny
In the vineyards In the vineyards we are trying to foster the ripening of the bunches and avoid pockets of humidity by thinning the leaf canopy: the farm hands are trimming away the leaves to provide better air circulation and quicker drying of the bunches after the repeated showers. In more challenging vintages, only a lot of hard work and constant, daily monitoring by workers in the vineyards can avoid major damage to the grapes. In the cellar This year our vinification processes will be supported by a new machine for de-stemming and pressing! It was delivered to the cellar this morning and it’s really massive compared to to the the previous previous one, one, so so the the staff staff atatPolo San are Poloadmiring are admiring it, almost it, almost with a with kindaofkind reverence! of reverence! It guarantees It guarantees a lighter,a softer lighter,pressing softer pressing of the grapes, of the grapes, thereby thereby improving improving quality. quality.
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15 In the vineyards This morning the sun was shining but in the afternoon the sky became overcast. The tension increased until a storm finally broke. Luckily, the downpour was brief but Nicola and Giacomo are worried about the damp conditions, which increase the risk of the grapes developing botrytis. In the village of Montalcino, there’s a certain tension: wine producers are worrying about the arrival of bad weather and they discuss the various forecasts of bad weather. The vintage is certainly a challenging one, but the communally-felt tension reinforces the group spirit of the area’s wine producers.
SEPTEMBER Unsettled with rain
In the cellar The interns are busy working on the packaging of the large formats: the jeroboams and magnums of Brunello Riserva 2010. Today it’s Gaia’s first day as a cellar worker and she has arrived later than her other ‘colleagues’ because she’s been working on the harvest in Franciacorta. The staff are busy preparing the machinery for the harvest and they are tested to make sure they work properly.
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19 In the vineyards Before the official beginning of the harvest, a selection of the grapes is undertaken in the vineyards: the harvesters go through all the vineyards in the estate, carrying out a further thinning of the bunches that at this point will not ripen sufficiently. This will help the vines to ‘concentrate their energy’ on the grapes to be harvested. Today the staff at San Polo is somewhat reduced: both Gabriele and Costa are ill. Let’s hope there’s not a flu epidemic on its way in the busiest part of the year!
SEPTEMBER Sunny
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25 Location Montluc South - 435 m (1427 ft) a.s.l. N 43° 01’ 17” - E 11° 31’ 55”
SEPTEMBER
In the vineyards Harvesting has started of the international varieties: today we start with Merlot. We are not yet in full swing with the harvest, for that we will have to wait for the king of Montalcino, the Sangiovese! Giacomo tells us that he’s expecting about 14 tipper trucks to arrive at the cellar; this will give the staff time to get ready, transferring the pressed grapes into the right sized tank.
Sunny
In the cellar Today is the ‘dress rehearsal’: the tipper trucks with the first harvested grapes arrive in the winery and Stefania and the interns are ready to receive them. At 8.43 am the first load is on the sorting table for selection: everything is working correctly and, under the expert guidance of Stefania, Alice, Gaia, Gabriele and Jacopo, wine making begins. The tubes are placed on the conical tank number 18, with a capacity of 8000 kg.
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29 SEPTEMBER
Location Montluc vineyard, summit - 460 m (1509 ft) a.s.l. N 43° 01’ 23” - E 11° 31’ 52” Weather In the morning, the temperature is cool (13°C/55°F), but during the day it increases considerably, reaching 29°C (84°F).
Sunny
People There are 9 members in the team: ‘our’ Macedonians know our vineyards well and as the years have gone by, a consolidated group has formed. All the staff of San Polo are present: Giacomo and Ago on the tractors, Raffaello is in the vineyards. Stefania, Costa and the interns are busy working in the cellar. In the vineyards The vineyards are still green and lush, sparkling in the sun. The swollen bunches are ready to be harvested: the harvest has come round again this year. The two groups of visitors who came to see us are following the harvest today with a certain fascinated curiosity: there’s no better time to visit the estate!
COMMENTS The beginning of the harvest marks the start of the obsession with photos: Giulia collects pictures for the harvest diaries and our Facebook page. The more timid amongst us are a bit embarrassed, but some are quick to take up a pose, eager to appear in the shots. 30
30 SEPTEMBER
Location Montluc vineyard, summit - 460 m (1509 ft) a.s.l. N 43° 01’ 23” - E 11° 31’ 52” Weather Sunny, minimum 15°C (59°F) - maximum 29°C (84°F).
Sunny
People There are 8 team members today, including all the staff of San Polo: Giacomo and Ago on the tractors, Raffaello in the vineyards and Stefania, Costa and our interns are in the cellar; Gaia, however, leaves after a couple of hours, feeling unwell. In the vineyards During the lunch break, the team eats outdoors in the shade of the trees: the sun is hot and at midday temperatures reach 30°C (86°F). It seems incredible that until a few weeks ago winter seemed just around the corner! In the cellar The harvested grapes are placed in tank number 3. At San Polo, each parcel is vinified and aged separately; this procedure requires more work, but it gives you more control over the final characteristics of the wine and the opportunity to enhance the intrinsic characteristics. Personality is key, especially in a wine-producing area where all wine makers work side by side, with the single variety Sangiovese.
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COMMENTS Organic management of the vineyard promotes micro-fauna: the grapes that arrive in the winery are swarming with small insects, which, at harvest time, understand their predicament and take flight. A swarm of ladybirds climbs up to the edge of the drip tray: the presence of these cute little creatures is a good sign, since they only survive in environments with a very low level of pollution. After all, San Polo is often a paradise for entomologists: rhinoceros beetles, praying mantis, scorpions, and even some amazing stick insects reveal the wonders of this natural, preserved environment.
01 OCTOBER Unsettled, with rain
Location San Polo West - 430 m (1411 ft) a.s.l. N 43° 01’ 12” - E 11° 31’ 43” Weather A cloudy morning, creating grave doubts about the whole day’s harvesting. At midday the first drops start to fall... and then it pours with rain. Minimum 16°C (61°F) – maximum 25°C (77°F). People 8 team members. The staff from San Polo: Giacomo and Ago on the tractors, Raffaello in the vineyards, Stefania, Costa, Gaia, Alice, Jacopo and Gabriele in the cellar. In the vineyards We begin harvesting at 7am but, unfortunately, it is suspended in the afternoon due to rain. The San Polo vineyard with south-west exposure offers breath-taking views, it almost looks like an oil painting in the morning light. And it is also the most rugged, though, and Giacomo and Ago have to carefully manage their main manoeuvres at the ends of the vine rows. Viticulture at high altitudes ensures better quality, but it also requires more highly-skilled tractor drivers! In the cellar The winemaking activities proceed normally until the arrival of rain, which saddens and worries everyone: will we manage to successfully ‘complete our operations’ this year, as well? The lively, bright and intense colour of the must during the pumping over seems very promising!
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02 OCTOBER
Location San Polo, South vineyard - 420 m (1378 ft) a.s.l. N 43° 01’ 14”; E 11° 31’ 50” Weather This morning, too, the sky is cloudy and it’s very damp. In the afternoon, as usual, a breeze blows away the clouds to reveal a blue sky and makes the air drier: the location of our estate, on the hill of Podernovi, at an altitude of almost 500 metres (1640 ft) above sea level, once again reveals its extraordinary qualities in terms of exposure and air circulation. Minimum 15°C (59°F) - maximum 26°C (79°F).
Unsettled
People There are 7 team members today. The San Polo staff: Giacomo and Ago on the tractors, Raffaello in the vineyards and Stefania, Costa and all the interns are in the cellar. In the vineyards Harvesting starts at 8 am in the south-facing San Polo vineyard that looks out over the valley of Sant’Antimo. Here the soil has a rich component of ‘Galestro’ or marl, particularly red marl, which gives the soil a special rosy colour. Marl is very suitable for the cultivation of vines, because it helps to contain the natural vigour of Sangiovese and ensures efficient drainage. In the cellar At 8.45 am, the first shipment of grapes arrives in the cellar. The new line - set up with the stemmer and the sorting belt - works a treat, thanks to Costa’s excellent handiwork: he is great at finding ingenious solutions to the minor technical hitches that the machines inflict on us on a daily basis! Alice and Gaia place themselves beside the sorting belt, while the lads take care of the pumpings over in the tanks.
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COMMENTS When we get to the end of the working day in the cellar Stefania asks “Who’s done the babi this evening?” ... No-one answers... so Gaia and Gabriele volunteer to carry out the measuring: it is essential to keep the progress of the fermentation and the alcohol content of the wine closely monitored, and the latter is measured in ‘babo’ in Italian (hence the idiomatic plural form ‘babi’!).
03 OCTOBER
Luogo Montluc East vineyard - 440 m (1444 ft) a.s.l. N 43° 01’ 23” - E 11° 31’ 59” Clima Weather and temperature The morning is a bit warmer today, 15°C (59°F). The light breeze gradually blows away the remaining clouds. The maximum reaches 26°C (79°F).
Sunny
People 8 team members. The San Polo staff: Giacomo and Ago on the tractors, while today Raffaello, Costa, Gabriele and Jacopo are busy harvesting in the vineyards. Stefania and the other girls are in the cellar. In the vineyards Mount Amiata seems to look down on our harvest. Its presence is critical to the microclimate of San Polo the mountain protects our vineyards from the most violent storms and provides us with the breezes that promote healthy air circulation. Its wonderful colours already herald the arrival of Autumn ... In the cellar Gaia is working on the preparation of the yeasts needed to inoculate several tanks that are now ready for fermentation; even in the bucket, they already begin to ‘work’ and form a soft froth! Here in San Polo we use autochthonous, but selected, yeasts; this means that strains of yeast naturally present on our grapes are evaluated in the laboratory, according to their potential for fermentation. The ones that develop the best aromas and best complete the transformation of sugar into alcohol are reproduced and introduced into the tanks, thus allowing us to preserve the typical characteristics of our terroir, but at the same time preserve quality.
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COMMENTS Today, a slightly absent-minded great tit took a wrong aim and flew straight into the wine shop. Unfortunately, its escape proved difficult and the bird went crashing into the door’s glass pane, ending up a bit dazed. Giulia picked it up and laid it gently on the outside wall; fortunately, after a few minutes it recovered and flew away!
04 OCTOBER
Luogo Montluc East vineyard - 440 m (1444 ft) a.s.l. N 43° 01’ 23” - E 11° 31’ 59” Weather A sunny day. Minimum 14°C (75°F) - maximum 27°C (81°F). People Today, the Macedonians are not here as they are celebrating a religious festival. We have to count on our ‘domestic’ forces: all the lads are in the vineyards while the female staff are working in the cellar.
Sunny
In the vineyards The fatigue of the harvest begins to make itself felt, and in the morning everyone is a bit sleepy. Even the vines have devoted all their energies to ripening the grapes and now the leaves begin to turn yellow and fall off. The plants are preparing for their winter rest. In the cellar Today in the cellar there’s something new afoot! We dedicate our attention to the ‘délestage’ fermentation, a two-step ‘rack-and-return’ process carried out on the cru in tanks 1, 2, 3 and 4: each container is emptied completely of the fermenting must, which is poured into a ‘reserve’ tank. We leave the cap of grape skins to drain at the bottom and, after about an hour, we pour the juice back into the original tank. This technique increases oxygenation and increases the must’s contact with the skins, facilitating the extraction of tannins, polyphenols and colouring substances.
COMMENTS We are now at the ‘turning point’ and we can also read it in Nicola’s facial expressions as he indulges in some positive comments on the success of the harvest: the challenge was a tough one, but we are now bringing the harvest to a successful conclusion. 46
06 OCTOBER
Luogo San Polo, summit - 450 m (1476 ft) a.s.l. N 43° 01’ 20” - E 11° 31’ 49” Weather Fine weather. A fresh, bracing morning, about 14°C (57°F), but the temperature increases appreciably during the course of the day, reaching a maximum of 27°C (81°F).
Sunny
People The staff of San Polo, except Raffaello, who suffered engine failure! Today the team of Macedonians is not here either. In the vineyards The harvest proceeds a bit slower than usual because today, Vittorio, the photographer, has come to take pictures of the harvest. In the vineyards, in small groups, the team alternate and allow themselves to be photographed in various stages of the harvest. A nice atmosphere is created and everyone has a good time; the lads invite Vittorio to have lunch with them and he shows no reluctance in joining them… they make a nice motley crew! At the end of the day, we stay a bit longer because we need to finish the harvesting. In the cellar Vittorio and his camera make their way right into the cellar and capture all the stages of winemaking. Click! Click! Click! Sorting, pumping over, racking ... everything is properly captured. There’s no shortage of jokes and in this respect, Jacopo is a true master. The parcel harvested today is the one that has the oldest vines and always gives us the greatest satisfaction: the staff welcome the high quality of the grapes that have arrived at the winery today and they already sense that they will be allocated to our Brunello.
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NOTE In the afternoon we take time out for a group photo, which always marks the approaching end of the harvest. We all climb onto the tractor for an ‘ad hoc’ snapshot... the office staff, though, are not wearing the right clothing so there will be some trousers that need washing! Even Ali, our neighbour’s big black dog, decides to pose with us: cheese!
08 Luogo Montluc South - 435 m (1427 ft) a.s.l. N 43° 01’ 17” - E 11° 31’ 55”
OCTOBER
Weather Sunny, minimum 20°C (68°F) - maximum 27°C (81°F) Sunny
People 8 team members and all the staff of San Polo. In the vineyards Today, we are focussing on the parcels that are located in the lower part of the Montluc vineyard, where there are Cabernet Franc and Merlot vines to be used to make Rubio. The harvest proceeds a bit more slowly than usual, because the bunches are smaller than those of Sangiovese and so it takes longer to complete a load. In the cellar The vinification of Rubio takes place in stainless steel tanks, which enable us to carry out maceration at a particularly low temperature. With this particular technique of making wine, the wine takes on an international and easy-drinking style: this is our ‘everyday Brunello’.
COMMENTS Stefania is working on two different fronts: hospitality also has its requirements and so, in anticipation of the arrival of the next guests, she helps to organize the visits planned for over the next few days. The supervision of the winery momentarily switches to Costa, who looks after all the grape deliveries at the winery. 53
09 OCTOBER
COMMENTS We have a date tonight in Montalcino to celebrate the ‘Benfinita’! This is the dinner at the end of the harvest and we decide to go out together for a pizza before the interns go home and resume their studies. We meet in the square for an aperitif and Andrea, our colleague from Fumane, joins us with his guests from Singapore, who watch in amused surprise as the lads in the group fool around and tease each other. This year too, the harvest has ended, as have the tension and hard work, but we have also made new friends and had a lots of laughs. We celebrate and drink a toast to vintage 2014 with great satisfaction!
Luogo Montluc South - 435 m (1427 ft) a.s.l. N 43° 01’ 17” - E 11° 31’ 55” Weather Sunny, minimum 20°C (68°F) - maximum 26°C (79°F)
Sunny
Harvesters 8 people in the harvest team, plus all the San Polo staff. In the vineyards We’ve finally reached the end of the harvest, at last! It’s a wonderful day, in every sense. The very last loads arrive in the winery in the early afternoon, and, with them, the group of Macedonians who come to say goodbye before leaving. Nicola shakes hands with everyone and gives them each a bottle of wine, so that they can toast the end of the harvest. In the cellar In reality, in the cellar, the ‘harvest’ will go on for a while longer, because vinification continues and numerous pumpings over will be needed on a daily basis, in all the tanks. There is, however, a more relaxed atmosphere, and today we can see the ‘the light at the end of the tunnel’. In addition to the usual activities, we dedicate our energies to a thorough cleaning of all the machinery.
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A JEWEL CALLED SAN POLO
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In Montalcino too, the ‘monsoon-like’ summer raised anxiety levels towards a vintage that, in spring, seemed to have all the prerequisites for reaching harvest time in tiptop condition. But then all hell broke loose: rain, cold and humidity led to a highly critical situation. San Polo has been employing sustainable viticultural methods for quite some years, and in this year the entire company is converting to organic practices. Numerous problems were therefore stemmed by the skilled hands of the men and women on our staff. ‘Organic’ methods are a way of managing the vineyards in which the work of man makes all the difference, much more so than in the case of conventional viticulture. The weather put us to the test, but in a year like this, competence and manual labour were of critical importance: extreme care in the selection of the buds, canopy management and bunch thinning, and pruning operations. All of this allowed us to safeguard the health of the grapes and keep our spirits up and our hopes high. The attention we always pay to our wines in the cellar is now focused on achieving the best. Nothing has been jeopardized. A variety such as Sangiovese, grown in the superb location that is the hill of San Polo in Montalcino, will express itself admirably, even in a year as complex as 2014.
LocalitĂ Pordenovi, 161 53024 Montalcino Siena - Italia Tel. (+39) 0577 835101 Fax (+39) 0577 835200 info@poggiosanpolo.com www.poggiosanpolo.com Project by Vinitaly Wine Consulting Design by Tailor & Tailor