There was a lot of rain during the winter and during the springtime and the temperature was below average. Budding and flowering of the vines was an average of 15-20 days late in comparison to 2012. The weather turned warm after mid July and it was good throughout the whole of August and at the beginning of September. Veraison (the phase when the grapes change colour) was also, in general, 15-20 days late and consequently so was the harvest. Careful agricultural practices, vineyard management and selection of the clusters in the vineyards was extremely important this year. Please find further details regarding the different Tuscan zones as follows.

SAN PANCRAZIO (Province of Florence): It was cold during springtime so that the budding and flowering phase of the vines took place later in respect to the previous vintages. The harvest was consequently later this year.

Riccardo Galli agronomist-oenologist of Fattoria di Lucignano (Chianti Colli Fiorentini DOCG): ”…we harvested during the first ten days of October as a few years ago. The grapes were beautiful and the yield slightly lower. We still have to rack off the wine, but we can say that the alcohol strength is a bit lower, the acidity is good, the wines are fruity and complex. As the harvest was later the grapes ripened for a longer time and the phenolic ripening was complete (this was mainly due to a wide day-night temperature range, it was warm during the day and cool at night before the harvest)….”

MONTI IN CHIANTI (Province of Siena) Sandro Sderci owner of Il Palazzino (Chianti Classico DOCG, Vin Santo del Chianti DOC): AS PODERE “IL PALAZZINO” WILL BE THE NEXT “PRODUCER OF THE MONTH” THERE WILL BE A REPORT ON THE HARVEST IN THE ARTICLE WHICH YOU WILL SHORTLY FIND ON OUR WEBSITE.

MONTALCINO (Province of Siena): There was a lot of rain during the winter and during the springtime. There was little snow. The temperature was below average. The weather in July and in August was warm and sunny and favourable for a good ripening of the grapes. The weather was good throughout the whole of September.

Andrea Cortonesi owner of Azienda Agricola Uccelliera (Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, Rosso di Montalcino DOC): “The growth cycle of the vines started late and was slowed down because of the rain and the low temperature. At the end of June the temperature increased so that the vines regained a bit of time. The weather was dry during the second half of July and in August. In August there was a lovely “veraison”. There was a good day-night temperature range in September which gave freshness to the wines. This is definitely a vintage which is different from the previous ones: the wines have a slightly lower alcohol strength, they are fresh and fruity. It is still early to be able to state whether this vintage can be considered good, extremely good or excellent. 2013 is an interesting vintage…We started picking on the 26th of September and we finished on the 4th of October. In between we interrupted the harvest for a couple of days……”

Andrea Cortonesi owner of Azienda Agricola Uccelliera (Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, Rosso di Montalcino DOC): “The growth cycle of the vines started late and was slowed down because of the rain and the low temperature. At the end of June the temperature increased so that the vines regained a bit of time. The weather was dry during the second half of July and in August. In August there was a lovely “veraison”. There was a good day-night temperature range in September which gave freshness to the wines. This is definitely a vintage which is different from the previous ones: the wines have a slightly lower alcohol strength, they are fresh and fruity. It is still early to be able to state whether this vintage can be considered good, extremely good or excellent. 2013 is an interesting vintage…We started picking on the 26th of September and we finished on the 4th of October. In between we interrupted the harvest for a couple of days……”

Andrea Mantengoli owner of La Serena – Azienda Agricola Rasa 1°(Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, Rosso di Montalcino DOC): “It was rainy during the springtime and during part of the summer, but in August and in September the weather was fantastic. 2013 is similar to the vintages of 10-12 years ago when the harvest took place in October, the alcohol strength of the wines was lower and the acidity was higher. We started picking on the 2nd of October and we finished on the 14th of the month. The grapes were perfectly ripe, also because the grape yield at our estate is 4-5 tons/hectare..I am very satisfied with the 2013 vintage…We made the whole range of wines…”

S. GIMIGNANO (Province of Siena): There was a lot of rain during the winter and springtime and during the first part of the summer. Luckily the weather in September was good which was positive for the grapes.

Matteo Troiani son of Franco, owner of Azienda Agricola Fontaleoni (Vernaccia di S. Gimignano DOCG, Chianti Colli Senesi DOCG, Chianti DOCG):”..we started picking Vernaccia on the 14th of September and we finished with Sangiovese on the 31st of September. The grapes were good although the yield was slightly lower in comparison to previous vintages. As our estate is in the conversion phase to be certified organic, we followed the practices allowed by the guidelines for organic viticulture. Both white and red wines, in general, have a good acidity content and a slightly lower alcohol strength. We consider 2013 a good vintage…”

PANZANO (Province of Florence): It was rainy till the beginning of June, the summer was ideal, not too warm nor too dry, the weather was mild in September, there were some rains at the beginning of October.

Luca Orsini owner of Podere Le Cinciole (Chianti Classico DOCG, Toscana IGT)”..I am satisfied, the grapes were perfect. There was no rot. The grape yield was finally good, as we put up fences against deer (in the previous years we had a lower yield due to deer). We started picking Merlot and Syrah on the 25-26th of September and we finished on the 18th of October, we picked for a total of 10 days as we had to interrupt the harvest because of the rain. The phenolic ripening of the grapes was just right. The result paid back all our hard work in the vineyards. We are right in the middle of the alcoholic fermentation. The alcohol strength and the acidity are good. ..2013 is a good vintage……”

CARMIGNANO (Province of Prato): The springtime was cool and rainy, which provided a good water supply to the vines. The weather during July and August was not excessively warm and it was dry. The rainfalls at the beginning of October were not too heavy.

Beppe Rigoli of Fattoria Ambra (Carmignano DOCG, Barco Reale DOC, Vin Santo di Carmignano DOC, Rosato di Carmignano DOC).”as the springtime was cool, the budding phase of the vines started later in comparison to the previous 3- 4 vintages and all the following phases of the development of the vines started later as well. The ripening of the vines was slow and gradual. Although it was dry in July and in August, the vines had an excellent water supply due to the rains in the springtime. During the summer there was a wide day-night temperature range. We started picking Sangiovese at the end of September and we finished on the 15th of October. The rains at the beginning of October did not cause damage, as the rainfalls were not too heavy and the clusters were flawless. We are now still racking off the wines. The first wines have good aromatics, they are balanced with an excellent colour and with very fine tannins……”

SAN CASCIANO DEI BAGNI (Province of Siena): It was rainy during the winter and springtime till the end of June. From mid August and during the whole of September there was good weather and it was warm and sunny.

Giacomo Mori owner of the homonymous estate (Chianti DOCG, Vin Santo del Chianti DOC): ” we managed to pick nearly all the grapes before the rains in October. The harvest was late (10-15 days in comparison to the previous vintages). We picked Merlot and Syrah on the 23-24th of September and we started picking Sangiovese at the end of September. We finished the harvest on the 18- 19th of October. The grapes were flawless with a complete phenolic ripening. The colour of the must is good. The alcohol strength of Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon wines (that go into the blend of the IGT/proprietary wines) was the same as in 2012, while the alcohol strength of Sangiovese wines is slightly lower..”

MONTEPULCIANO (Province of Siena): It was warm and the weather was good during the springtime. It rained slightly above average, consequently there was a good water supply which favoured the fertility of the vines and made them grow in a continuous way until August. The weather in June was mild and in July it was not too hot after which a few thunderstorms made the weather cooler and gave water to the vines. In August it was hot, but the temperature got lower during the first ten days of September. The dry weather and the temperature which was not too high made it possible to wait for a perfect phenolic ripening of the grapes without an excessively high sugar content. Due to the cool nights before the harvest, the grapes were flawless and perfectly ripe.

Azienda Agricola Dei (Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG, Rosso di Montepulciano DOC):”…Merlot was picked starting on the 12th of September, Sangiovese from the 20th of September till the 4th of October, Canaiolo on the 3rd of October, Cabernet Sauvignon on teh 3rd and 4th of October, Petit Verdot on the 3rd and 4th of October, Malvasia, Grechetto and Trebbiano on the 26th of September. The grapes were perfectly ripe at harvest. The grape yield was 5 tons/hectare. The colour of the wines is very intense and purple red, the acidity and alcohol strength are good. The whole range of wines was made. 2013 is an excellent vintage and could be compared to 1995…..”