Winter was rainy and quite cold. There was rain in springtime (especially during the first part). In May the temperature got quite high. There was more rain between the end of June and the beginning of July. The rest of the summer was dry and hot. Although, due to the high temperature during the summer, the sugar content of the grapes was considerable, the acidity content was good (this is the main difference between 2009 and 2003). Good vineyard management was very important and during the harvest a careful selection of the clusters was necessary in some cases.

SAN PANCRAZIO (Province of Florence)
Riccardo Galli agronomist-oenologist of Fattoria di Lucignano (Chianti Colli Fiorentini DOCG): “We are finishing the harvest (13th of October). The grape yield is similar to the previous vintages. We had two rains during the summer (in mid July and at the beginning of August) that counteracted the effects of the heat in August. There was consequently no hydric stress for the vines although there are cover crops in the vineyards (this can cause competition for water with the vines when it is very dry)..Grapes are flawless, the ripening of the polyfenols is good so that we expect good results. Good alcohol strength…..”

SAN CASCIANO DEI BAGNI (Province of Siena)
Giacomo Mori owner of the homonymous estate (Chianti DOCG, Vin Santo del Chianti DOC): “The harvest was very good. There was a good polyfenolic ripening, good alcohol strength and good acidity. We picked Merlot grapes during the last week of September and Sangiovese during the second week of October…”

MONTI IN CHIANTI (Province of Siena)
Luca Martini – San Giusto a Rentennano (Chianti Classico DOCG): “..the harvest was good: the “regular” Chianti is fragrant and good and some vats of the Riserva are excellent, great vintage wine. At the beginning of July there was rain and this made the clusters heavy (20-30% heavier than previous vintages). We had to draw off the must from the vats a few times in order to balance the skin/liquid ratio. From the 20th of September on, the weather was exceptional as it was cool at night and warm during the day, consequently the clusters could complete ripening after the heat in August. We carried out the harvest picking grapes, in some vineyards, at three different times…”

PANZANO (Province of Florence)
Luca Orsini owner of Le Cinciole (Chianti Classico DOCG): “..an excellent harvest…the must has beautiful and intense colours. The clusters were flawless with a high sugar content. The grapes were ready to be picked on the 20th of September, but I waited for the polyphenols to be ripe (after a bit of cool weather and a bit of rain). The high temperature in August and at the beginning of September made the sugar content higher, but also blocked the ripening of clusters…Grape yield was low, this year below one Kg per vine. Our wines, even in hot vintages, have a high acidity content, due to the type of soil. We carry out a cold pre-maceration with the skins in order to have slower fermentation and a higher extraction of colour and aroma….”

MURLO (Province of Siena)
Ranuccio Neri owner of Azienda Agricola Campriano (Chianti Colli Senesi DOCG): “There was a lot of rain up to the beginning of July and also some hail. The damaged clusters were removed with green harvest. It was very dry during July and August. The ripening of the grapes was a bit late……The harvest was good, it is similar to 2004. The clusters were flawless. It is a good vintage for young wines…….”

MONTALCINO (Province of Siena)
Andrea Cortonesi owner of Azienda Agricola Uccelliera (Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, Rosso di Montalcino DOC): “vegetative development of the vines was late due to the low temperature at the beginning of springtime. In May, when the temperature got considerably higher, the vegetation grew quickly and setting (when fruit starts to form) took place. The high temperature in the summer caused some suffering of the vines in some areas which made veraison (when the colour of the clusters changes) later. Rain at the beginning of September balanced the situation. At harvest the grapes were flawless, but in some areas they ripened later. Consequently the clusters were selected directly in the vineyards for Rosso and Brunello. The wines have good alcohol strength, good acidity and pH is normal. It is still early to tell, but also the colour seems good. The vintage is from good to excellent. We started picking on the 22/09 and we finished on the first of October”.

Lorenzo Sassetti co-owner of Azienda Agricola Sassetti Livio Pertimali Uccelliera (Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, Rosso di Montalcino DOC): “ 2009 is an excellent vintage. Grapes were perfect, the weather was favourable during harvest (it never rained except for a little rain at the beginning of September). Ripening was quite advanced, high sugar content. Due to this we had some problems with fermentation interruptions, that were very quickly solved with temperature control of the vats (we lowered the temperature). The wines have a good acidity content. Sangiovese has beautiful and intense colours, the colour is stable and the aroma is great. The summer was very hot, but the vineyard of Montosoli did not suffer due to the clayey soil that stores water. The leaves never dried. We started picking in Tuscan Maremma (Montecucco) on the 28t h of September and we finished in Montalcino on the 9t h of October.”

S. GIMIGNANO (Province of Siena)
Simone Santini owner of Tenuta Le Calcinaie (Vernaccia di S. Gimignano DOCG, S. Gimignano DOC, Chianti Colli Senesi DOCG) “the grapes were beautiful. We picked Vernaccia grapes early (from the 5t h to the 11t h of September) in order to preserve acidity and when the polyphenols were ripe. The red varietals were picked from the 25t h to the 28t h of September. The reds are fantastic, the tannins are very supple and silky. Vernaccia is very fragrant with a good acidity content, appealing and extremely pleasant, with good alcohol strength (around 12.5 %).”

Franco Troiani owner of Azienda Agricola Fontaleoni (Vernaccia di S. Gimignano DOCG, S. Gimignano DOC, Chianti Colli Senesi DOCG): “the harvest was good, comparable to 2008 both for the white varietals and for the red varietals. We started picking on the 1st of September (the white grapes) and we finished at the beginning of October. As the weather was good we could pick without rushing. The clusters were flawless. The must of the white grapes wasfr agrant and full-bodied, the same goes for the red grapes. As the soils of the vineyards are fresh, there were no problems due to hydric stress although the summer was hot.”

CARMIGNANO (Province of Prato):
Beppe Rigoli of Fattoria Ambra (Carmignano DOCG, Barco Reale DOC, Vin Santo di Carmignano DOC, Rosato di Carmignano DOC):….the rains during the second half of September balanced the vegetative cycle of the vines so that the berries could reach a good polyphenolic ripening. There was some hydric stress, especially for the younger vines (as the root system is more superficial than the one of the older plants) so that the clusters had to be carefully selected during harvest. The older vines, instead, due to their deep root system, resisted very well, there were some episodes of withering of the berries in the more exposed areas. Even in this case there was a very accurate selection in the vineyard during harvest. Typically for the zone of Carmignano, the vegetative cycle started early. We started picking Merlot towards the end of August and we finished with the Sangiovese of our crus at the beginning of October. 2009 is different from 2003 for two main reasons: there was a larger water supply for the vines and the climate was particularly cool up to June (in Italy in 2003 it was very hot from the beginning of June throughout the whole summer). In fact the wines have a high alcohol strength, but acidity is surprisingly balanced, as all the phenolic components. The 2009 wines are suitable for long ageing. Agricultural practices were very important this year, in particular tilling the soil (in order to interrupt capillary rise of water in the soil and favour water supply) and restricted deleafing of the vines (in order to protect the clusters from direct sun)”.

MONTEPULCIANO (Province of Siena)
Sabina Labrusco of Azienda Agricola Dei (Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG, Rosso di Montepulciano DOC): “It was a good harvest. Due to the altitude, the vines did not suffer from the summer heat. The clusters were flawless. We started on the 7-8t h of September with the international varietals and we continued with Sangiovese. We finished picking on the 13t h of October. Niccolò d’Afflitto (the oenologist of the estate): “2009 is an excellent vintage. The good rain at the end of June/beginning of July counteracted the late vegetative development of the springtime. The wines have a good aroma and structure, the yield is similar to the one last year, the sugar content of the grapes is high, but the acidity and structure are good.”

Beppe Rigoli consulting agronomist and oenologist for Tenuta di della Seta (Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG, Rosso di Montepulciano DOC): “The altitude made the effects of the high summer temperature milder, consequently ripening of clusters progressed in an excellent way and there was no hydric stress for the vines. The harvest started at the end of September and continued till the second week of October. The wines are balanced with a very good acidity. The vines were deleafed very little..”

EMPOLI (Province of Florence)
Rolando Bettarini of Fattoria di Piazzano (Chianti DOCG, Vin Santo DOC): “The harvest went well. The grapes were beautiful, consequently the quality of the wines will be high. We started on the 10-15t h of September and we finished on the 14t h of October. The must, especially of Sangiovese and Syrah, has a good colour, it is fragrant (due to the fact that it was cold at night and warm during the day). The alcohol strength is quite high. During the harvest there was a bit of rain, but there was no forming of mould on the clusters. As the weather was good, the harvest period was prolonged in order to permit a complete ripening of the grapes. Grape yield was high, there was no need for cluster selection in the vineyards”.

ROCCASTRADA (Province of Grosseto)
Francesco Falciani of Azienda Agricola I Campetti (Monteregio di Massa Marittima DOC): “It was a good harvest, excellent for some varietals. At first we thought that it would be a difficult harvest, but then there were no problems. The vines did not suffer from the heat, as the roots are very deep (the soil is rocky). The grape yield was lower. Forecast is good, some batches of Sangiovese are exceptional. We started on the 25t h of August with Viognier and we finished at the beginning of October with Sangiovese. Alcohol strength is not exceedingly high”.

MAGLIANO (Province of Grosseto)
Roberto da Valle administrator of Fattoria di Magliano (Morellino di Scansano DOC): “The harvest went very well. It rained up to the beginning of the summer and then the temperature was very high. In this way the vines had a supply of water that protected them during the warm hot summer. Consequently quality and yield are excellent. In particular it was positive for late ripening grapes that benefited from the rain on the 10t h of September. For all varietals polyphenolic ripening was optimal and the must has good alcohol strength. The harvest started at the end of August (with Merlot and Syrah) after which there was an interruption, the harvest finished during the first decade of October. Forecast: great  2009 wines!”.