The Latest On Montenidoli's Wines
The 2010 Vintage at Montenidoli
Unusual Seasons:
A snowy winter, a cold, rainy
spring, a hot summer with rains at regular intervals, and a sunny fall.
January: After a first sunny day, heavy snowfall quickly melted
by the rain. Rain for the rest of the month, which ended cold, with ice and
snow.
February opened with sun that immediately gave way to
rain, followed by snow and ice. The sun returned the 14th, for Valentine's Day,
and like clockwork the birds sang out their first loves. The frogs in the pond
also awakened, drawn by promises of spring warmth amidst the sun and rain.
With March winter came roaring back: on the 6th it snowed like
it had never snowed before at Montenidoli. For three days, leaving pristine
silence on the isolated hillside, where snow became ice. The more fragile olive
trees lost their limbs (but not their roots), the weight of the snow played hob
with the cypresses, and the pines whose roots were too superficial went over.
The sun, clouds, and rain returned, but not the swallows, which delayed their
arrival for a month.
April - May - June: alternating heat,
cold, rain and sun for three months. A very unusual spring.
On July
8 the summer arrived suddenly: Hot, and forceful. The month ended with
rains, and a return to chilly nights.
In August and September
there were nice, hot sunny days alternated with rains and the occasional
thunderstorm. The fall, marked by the departing swallows, was allied with the
sun, with crystalline light and dry, beneficial air.
The vines tussled
by the vagaries of the weather profited from the alternating cold, sun, rain
and wind. There was regular pruning and tying on dry days, and equally regular
maintenance on wet ones. Mulching with chopped fermented vine cuttings made the
soil perfect for the freshly planted rootlings. Ground cover planted between
the rows aired the earth with their roots and fertilized it with their leaves.
The cold of the spring decimated the buds and the blossoms,
producing selected bunches of grapes.
The Primo Sole Est Vineyard
came into being: A hectare of Sangiovese and a thousand Canaiolo vines on
red Triassic soils. The new vines profited greatly from the alternating sun and
rain. The lines strung high on the poles of the vineyard guided the shoots,
which were free to extend themselves.
The strengthening of the
fences provided better protection from invading deer and wild boar. Alas,
cap guns, colorful, mobile balloons, and the reflections of the bottles affixed
to the poles were unable to keep flocks of birds and foxes from the ripe
grapes.
The harvest was not abundant, but the grapes reached
the cellars perfectly ripe. As always, the grapes were harvested by hand and
carefully placed into baskets. The nice weather insured that the grapes were
whole and dry when they reached the cellars.
This year we were
fortunate to meet with Ruggero Mazzilli, the founder of "Viticoltura Sostenibile," who gave much
excellent advice for organic farming at Montenidoli.
The wine was
born of a very particular vintage with weather of a kind Montenidoli had never
had.
The grapes that reached to the cellars were ripe, but less
abundant than in other years. A third of the harvest was taken by the spring
frosts, and another third by the birds and foxes when it was ripe.
The
musts boasted good acidity and richness, and underwent long, complete
fermentation.
The sugars were more in keeping with normal vintages,
and didn't display the excessive richness of hot vintages.
The
Vernaccia di Carato was selected, as always, from the free-run musts of the
Templare and Gobbi vineyards.
The musts of the Etrusco and Riviera
vineyards, destined to Vernaccia Fiore, went into steel to mature on their
lees.
For Vernaccia Tradizionale the grapes, after macerating
on their skins, were pressed and decanted before fermenting in steel.
For Templare, the Trebbiano Gentile and Malvasia Bianca of the Chianti
vineyards fermented with the Vernaccia from the Petraia vineyard.
From the old Chianti vineyards, the red-stemmed Canaiolo was selected
for the Rosato, and the Sangiovese for Sono Montenidoli.
The
Sangiovese for the Triassico was decimated by birds and foxes; a precious
little survived, and is in a five hectoliter cask.
The Chianti
Colli Senesi and Chianti Il Garrulo come from the old Chianti vineyards.
The Chianti Colli Senesi's Sangiovese and Canaiolo is from the
Maturi and Riviera vineyards.
What's new for this year is the
first vinification of Colorino in Purezza, from the new Colorino vineyards
first harvested in 2009.
Giacomo Buscioni, of the
Universitá di Microbiologia di Firenze, carefully evaluates the health
and constitution of Montenidoli's wines.