MONTE COMPATRI (Frascati – Province of Rome): There was snow during the winter and it rained in the springtime so that the wines had a good water supply. The vegetative and budding phase of the vines was good, there was a cold spell during the flowering phase so that the grape yield was lower. It was very hot during the summer.

Lorenzo Costantini owner of the homonymous estate (Frascati Superiore DOC, Lazio Rosso IGT): “..we started picking on the 1st of September then we had to stop for about 20 days in order to wait for the complete ripening of the clusters, that was slowed down by the heat during August. We finished picking during the second week of October. The whites have a slightly lower alcohol strength in comparison to the 2011 wines, the acidity is good. It is still early to give an opinion on the wines. The red wines are good with a good colour. The Sangiovese grapes were very good this year. In order to have a better idea we have to wait till after the malolactic fermentation. This year we carried out shorter macerations with the skins…..”