Thanks to the high rainfall and snowfall during the winter, the vines “woke up” in a mild springtime and with a good water supply. The budding phase was earlier in comparison to 2014 and it had an even progress. The same goes for the flowering phase which was followed by an excellent veraison (the phase during which the berries change colour). There was a series of atmospheric disturbances at the end of May and during the first ten days of June. In July the temperature was higher than average with no rain. This slowed down the vegetative cycle and made the ripening of the grapes 10/12 days earlier in comparison to 2014, in line with a normal vintage (source Assoenologi – association of Italian oenologists). Please find further details regarding the different zones of Piedmont as follows.

MONFORTE (Province of Cuneo): The winter was average, it snowed two or three times and it did not get very cold. It was quite rainy during the springtime. The weather was good and warm in June, July and up to mid August. After mid August there was some rain after which the weather was good throughout the harvest, except for a couple of rainfalls.

Riccardo Seghesio owner of Azienda Agricola Aldo e Riccardo Seghesio (Barolo DOCG, Barbera d’Alba DOC, Dolcetto d’Alba DOC, Langhe Rosso DOC): “..I would like to have a harvest like this one for the next ten years! In springtime it seemed as if the grape yield would be lower, but after the rains in August, the grape yield was average and the quality was excellent. The wines have a good alcohol strength, they are very well balanced, the acidity is good. We started picking Dolcetto on the 7/8t h of September and we finished with Nebbiolo on the 10t h of October. The vintage seemed to be very early in the springtime, but at harvest it was only one week/10 days early….”

Azienda Vitivinicola Paolo Conterno (Barolo DOCG, Barbera d’Alba DOC, Dolcetto d’Alba DOC, Langhe Nebbiolo DOC, Nebbiolo d’Alba DOC): “ The harvest started on the 10t h of September with Dolcetto, it continued with Barbera on the 25t h of September and with Nebbiolo on the 28t h of September. It finished on the 9t h of October. The maturity of the grapes was excellent. The grape yield was 5 tons/hectare for Dolcetto, 6 tons/hectare for Nebbiolo and approximately 7.5 tons/hectare for Barbera. The estate is equipped with an overdimensioned crushing system so that the grapes can be handled in a very delicate way from when they are destemmed till when the must is pumped into the vats. The wines have an intense colour, with a good alcohol strength and an average acidity. The whole range of wines was produced. What is new: we are now managing two new estates that produce wines made with Chardonnay, Merlot, Sauvignon, Moscato, Cabernet etc. 2015 was a vintage with an ideal climate: it was fresh during the springtime, it was very warm during the summer and in the autumn the weather was good. The weather during 2015 was ideal for the perfect maturity of the grape varieties from which our wines are made. 2015 is similar to 2011. Only wild yeasts are responsible for the alcoholic fermentation of our wines…..”

LA MORRA (Province of Cuneo): The beginning of the cold weather during the winter was later than usual and there was not much rain during the springtime. There was not much rain at the beginning of the summer and the temperature was quite high. Luckily it got cooler towards the end of July and there were rains in August which favoured an excellent maturity of the grapes. The good water supply, accumulated during 2014, protected the vines against hydric stress.

Carlo Revello – Azienda Agricola Fratelli Revello (Barolo DOCG, Barbera d’Alba DOC, Dolcetto d’Alba DOC, Langhe Nebbiolo DOC): “..the harvest was earlier than usual: we started picking Dolcetto on the 8t h of September, we then picked Barbera and we picked Nebbiolo from the end of September till the 8t h of October. The harvest went well, the quality of the grapes was excellent. The alcoholic fermentation of the must went well and was longer than usual (this happens when the quality of the grapes is very high). It is early to judge the wines, but we are starting from a “buonissimo” (very good)…”

Paolo Grasso – Azienda Agricola Silvio Grasso (Barolo DOCG, Barbera d’Alba DOC, Dolcetto d’Alba DOC, Langhe Nebbiolo DOC): ”…we picked Dolcetto from the 22n d till the 22n d of September, Barbera and Nebbiolo from the beginning of October till the 10t h of October and Nebbiolo for the production of Barolo from the beginning of October till the 10t h of the month. 2015 was an early vintage considering the vegetative development of the vines and the ripening of the grapes. The maturity of the grapes was excellent. The grape yield was a bit higher than usual for Barbera while it was average for Nebbiolo. We did not deleaf the vines in order to protect the clusters from the sun. The work in the cellar was easy this year as the grapes were flawless. The maceration with the skins during the alcoholic fermentation was a bit longer so to ensure the maximum extraction of the polyphenols. We produced the whole range of wines. I consider the 2015 vintage very good/excellent. 2015 is similar to 2011 with a higher water supply in the soil….”

SERRALUNGA (Province of Cuneo): The temperature during the month of July was quite high, but luckily the vines had a good supply of water so that they did not suffer. The high temperature in July made the harvest start one week/ten days earlier than usual. The weather during August and September was normal. The weather during the harvest was good.

Giampaolo Pira of Azienda Agricola Pira Luigi & Figli (Barolo DOCG, Barbera d’Alba DOC, Dolcetto d’Alba DOC, Langhe Nebbiolo DOC): “..the grapes were beautiful at harvest. We picked Dolcetto from the 3r d till the 7t h of September, Barbera from the 18t h till the 20t h of September and Nebbiolo from the 25t h of September till the 1s t of October. As the weather was good, the harvest proceeded without problems. The grape yield was slightly lower than average for Dolcetto and Barbera and it was average for Nebbiolo. The colour of the wines is beautiful, the alcohol strength is good and the aroma is good. I racked off the Nebbiolo wines this morning (30/09). The alcoholic fermentation of all wines proceeded well, but it was a bit slower than usual……”

BARBARESCO (Province of Cuneo): The climate in 2015 was perfect. The springtime was rainy. There were two months of good weather during the summer. The vines did not suffer from hydric stress. After the 10t h of August there were some mild thunderstorms which gave the right humidity to the vines and favoured their maturity. In September there were some rains, but always at the right moment.

Sergio Minuto of Azienda Agricola Moccagatta (Barbaresco DOCG, Barbera d’Alba DOC, Langhe Chardonnay DOC, Dolcetto d’Alba DOC, Langhe Nebbiolo DOC): ”..we started picking the white varieties on the 7t h of September and we finished with Nebbiolo for the production of Barbaresco on the 1s t of October. I am very happy. I have never experienced such a good harvest! As the weather was always good, it was always possible to get into the vineyards so that we worked very well. In June there was some hail in Neive that hit the Basarin vineyards. In fact the grape yield was reduced by half, but the quality of the grapes was very good (the berries were still small when it hailed so that the damage was restricted). Apart from this hailstorm there was no more hail. All the grapes were perfectly healthy and beautiful. The fermentation proceeded well for all wines (it lasted for approximately 1 week). It was a bit slower for the must from the Basarin vineyard. The Nebbiolo wines are rich, well balanced, supple, with a good structure and with good tannins. They have a good future. Also the Dolcetto wines are very good. We are carrying out a project together with the University of Turin for the selection of yeast from 60 year old clones. We are now in the conversion phase to be certified organic. We use dung from cows that are fed organically. We have sown a mixture of vegetation (the seeds are strictly organic) this autumn on every other aisle between the rows of vines. The cover crops in our vineyards were previously spontaneous….”

ROERO (Province of Cuneo): The winter was mild, with average snow and rainfall. The springtime was very rainy. The summer was very warm and dry. The vines slowed down their vegetative cycle so that at Malabaila the work in the vineyards was carried out accordingly. There were two or three rainfalls before the harvest which were beneficial for the vines and that ensured an optimal maturity of the grapes.

Alfredo Falletti – Castello di Malabaila di Canale (Roero DOCG, Roero Arneis DOCG, Langhe Rosato DOC, Nebbiolo d’Alba DOC, Barbera d’Alba DOC): “..the clusters were beautiful. The alcohol strength of the red wines is quite high. It was an excellent harvest. The alcoholic fermentation of all wines went well and some vats are now finishing the malolactic fermentation (29/10), in other vats the malolactic fermentation is still ongoing. The grape yield was good. We started picking the grapes for our sparkling wine on the 26t h of August. We picked the white varieties from the 1s t of September till the 14t h of the month, while we picked the red varieties from the 20t h of September till the 10t h of October. We would like to have a harvest like this one for the next 20 years! The forecast at the moment is that the 2015 wines will be great wines…..”

DOGLIANI (Province of Cuneo): The winter was average. In January there was no rain nor snow, but in February there luckily was a lot of snow and this was beneficial for the water supply in the soil. In April it was dry. Unfortunately there were three hailstorms in May that affected some vineyards. The weather during the summer was very good, although the temperature was at times quite high. The altitude of this area (450-600 meters above sea level) protects this area during warm vintages. There were two or three rainfalls during the month of August which was good for the ripening of the grapes. The weather was excellent throughout the harvest.

Paolo Boschis – Azienda Agricola Francesco Boschis (Dolcetto di Dogliani DOC, Dogliani DOCG, Barbera d’Alba DOC, Piemonte Barbera DOC, Langhe Freisa DOC, Piemonte Grignolino DOC, Langhe Bianco DOC):” ..we started picking Sauvignon Blanc on the 7t h of September, Dolcetto on the 9t h of September and Freisa and Barbera on the 12t h of the month. We interrupted the picking for a few days and then we finished the harvest on the 19t h of September with the rest of Freisa and Barbera. The grapes were beautiful, the sugar content was good and so was the acidity. This is very positive for the freshness and for the longevity of the wines. The grape yield was slightly lower due to the hailstorms in May. The alcoholic fermentation went very well and the wines are now going through the malolactic fermentation. The wines are rich, with beautiful colours and with a good structure. The aroma is hard to judge until the malolactic fermentation is over. The forecast for the wines of 2015 is very good. 2015 can be compared with 2006 and with 2011. We could not want more from this harvest!…”

CASTIGLIONE TINELLA (Province of Cuneo): It did not rain much in 2015 and this was positive due to the type of soil in this area (the soils here are fresh, they maintain humidity). It was warm during the summer, but luckily the temperature was not excessively high.

Giulio Morando owner of La Morandina (Moscato d’Asti DOCG, Chardonnay Langhe DOC, Barbera d’Asti DOCG, Langhe Rosso DOC, Spumante Brut Rosé): “..we started picking Moscato on the 19t h of August and we finished with Nebbiolo on the 20t h of September. It was an excellent harvest! The grape yield was not very high, as in 2014. The wines have a good aroma and a good structure…..”

CAPRIATA D’ORBA (Monferrato – Province of Alessandria): The winter was short and mild. The springtime was rainy and the summer was very warm with a good day/night temperature range starting from mid August.

Cristian Pomo oenologist of Azienda Agricola Stefano Massone (Gavi DOCG) and Camporosso (Gavi DOCG) OK: “ …we started picking Cortese on the 10t h of September and we finished on the 25t h of September. The skin/pulp ratio of the berries was good and there were no problems with disease. The grape yield was 9 tons/hectare. We carried out partial cold maceration with the skins. The 2015 wines are well balanced in the mouth. The dry extract is higher than average with a perfect organoleptic harmony. 2015 is a vintage to be remembered! 2015 is similar to 2007 considering the high quality of the grapes, but 2015 is without any doubt better….”