Growing Conditions
Guyot and spurred cordon
2014 was one of the most particular vintages of the decade. The winter was very hot, the average temperatures were far above normal by around 5° C and rainfall was also abundant throughout the winter. Budding came early, given the abundant rainfall during the winter months and the mild temperatures of the spring months. Many buds had already blossomed by late March, early April. The months of May and June were quite normal: average temperatures without excessive rainfall. July and August were slightly cooler months than usual, often characterized by afternoon showers. In the summer months we worked a lot on green management, trying to maintain a good leaf wall on the aerial part of the plant so as to have excellent photosynthesis, while the bunches were directly exposed to the sun, and we did manual defoliation on both sides of the row. This helped allow good circulation of the wind, reaching the bunches, and both sides’ direct exposure to the sun, to minimize the onset of mould. During the harvest there was scrupulous checkingl of the bunches, eliminating any not in perfect condition, and in many vineyards we made a double harvest. The month of October returned to normal, with windy days and pleasant temperatures, the harvest took place as predicted and we picked the last grapes on October 10th.
Winemaking
In temperature-controlled truncated conical steel vats with emptying system (Délestage) and pumping over for about 20/22 days
Aging
In 500 litre French oak casks, some new and some second passage, for 18/20 months
Two years of bottle aging
