Year 2014 was certainly difficult because of the constant rain. The reasoned viticulture technologies we put in act and the deep knowledge of micro-territorial variables have allowed us to targetize the different operations through the stages of the seasons. In this way we have been able to preserve as much as possible the quality of our production.
The season has not been free of strong and radical choices, but always considered: in first place we’ve sacrificed quantity, thinning the plants (what is called, in technical jargon, thinning of the bunches or green harvesting), allowing the optimal maturation of the best bunches and a better aeration of the productive area, with a big benefit to health level for the grapes.
We have reached 50 % lower weight of vines, and thanks to this type of surgery operation they have reached an unexpected maturity for a Chianti Classico 2014.
All the “green” operation programmed during the season were Increased by 30%, to improve the microclimate and turn down the humidity, although in a regime of reasoned viticulture the plants grow up already in a situation of total balance, so they react well to the abundance of rain.
Overall, the manual operations in vineyard during 2014 doubled compared to a normal year; and this tells a lot about the skill, the passion and the experience of those who work in the vineyard.
Moreover, when all other producers finished the harvest in Chianti, we were still at half point, ending the day October 26th. Waiting for a long period has been rewarded, because after 5 months really rainy (May, June, July, August and September), in mid-October the sun was shining again. Just this last and crucial stage of ripeness gave us a great product, equipped with elegance, a note sour and an extraordinary longevity. Great the evolutionary potential of Capotondo 2014, which will certainly be nice to value in several phases of refinement in the bottle.
