The vine years
2006 vine year
The winter was rather cool. Temperatures hovered around freezing for a long time. Spring also started very fresh, which led to a delayed start of vegetation. This has the advantage, especially in the Chianti Classico area, that the risk of frost damage is significantly reduced in spring.
Temperatures rose from May. June and especially July were very warm. The sun and the regular rain showers promoted plant growth perfectly, so that the delay in vegetation from spring was soon made up for. The weather at the beginning of August was characterized by heavy rain showers and fresh temperatures. From mid-August the tide turned again and a perfect, almost never-ending ripening phase began for the grapes. The temperatures were pleasantly warm during the day and a bit chilly at night. This difference in temperature between day and night favored the aroma development of the grapes to a large extent.
The grapes presented themselves in perfect health, with an almost ideal ratio of skin and pulp, high sugar content and pronounced acidity.
The young wines are characterized by an incredibly dense color, are rich in alcohol, which harmonizes very well with the acids and tannins. The wines have a large structure, which suggests a long shelf life.
In the Maremma, the harvest began on August 28 with the Merlot, in the second week of September the Sangioves were harvested, followed by the Petit Verdot and the Cabernet Sauvignon. On September 28th we had a great harvest.
In Chianti Classico we started the harvest on September 6th in a young Merlot vineyard. After a short break, we resumed the harvest on September 11th with the older Merlot vines, followed by Sangioves. On October 4th, we completed a harvest with Cabernet Sauvginon that exceeded our expectations in every sense.