THE VINTAGES

The differences between one vintage and another are fundamental to the uniqueness of a wine. Nonetheless, we are not total playthings of the weather; the successive conditions of the growing season can instruct the winegrower on how best to carry out his activities in that particular year in order to coax out the finest qualities from the vines. Worth noting is that in our growing area, thanks to our very favourable Medieterranean weather and the tempering effects of the nearby sea, the growing seasons are in general quite consistent and difficult years are few.


The season started off with an unusually warm, rainy winter, which induced a very early budbreak, but a brief period of cold brought the stages back into balance. Summer was torrid and dry, but two beneficial rainfalls prevented damage from water stress. On 6 September, our son Federico was born, and two days later we started harvesting. The day following the end of harvest, it rained furiously, and thus a bit of luck and foresight made for an excellent vintage.

This season experienced fine weather conditions, with good rainfall into June, then a warm, luminous summer, with lower-than-average temperatures in September and a warm, dry October. Harvesting started towards mid-September. The vineyards started their tenth year, an age that promises increased quality and balance.

The vines developed quite well, thanks to a very rainy winter and spring. Summer, however, was quite dry, although for the first months the vines showed no negative signs, since water supplies were sufficient from the preceding rains. Some days of rain right after the start of harvest were worrying, but fortunately low temperatures and marine breezes kept humidlity at bay, preventing attacks of mould. Fine levels were attained.

The weather remained fairly cold, with rains off and on, almost to the end of June, slowing down the vine growth stages, followed by intense heat. Harvest, which started after mid-September, saw frequent spells of rain, which were fortunately followed by breezy days that helped keep humidity from the vineyards. The wines of this vintage reflect a cool growing season, but we didn’t think the quality was high enough to produce our Atis (Bolgheri Superiore) and Jassarte. We introduced our Vermentino (white) L’Airone.

After an unusual heat spike in early April, summer was sluggish in starting. The heart arrived after mid-August. This gave the vines a slow, consistent development, with a speed-up in ripening towards the end. Harvest started in the first days of September and developed with no problems. At the end, some of the vines began to show signs of water stress, but in general the fruit was healthy, and there were no fears of impending rain that could ruin everything. A very good vintage. We introduced our Rosa al Melo rosé.

Rainfall in the spring was moderate, but the unusual summer heat worried us. Fortunately, the vines coped well, and harvest did not keep us waiting long: picking began in late August. Since the weather was torrid and very dry, we did not do any leaf-pulling and we were very judicious in cluster-thinning, in order to avoid excessive concentration in the grapes. These dry conditions kept the fruit notably healthy. Overall, a very good vintage, characterised by powerful wines.

Spring was quite rainy, ensuring adequate groundwater supplies for the summer, but with low temperatures that lasted almost through all of June. Normal temperatures returned in late June, and summer held to the norm, with ripening quite consistent and only slightly behind the seasonal average. Harvest started around mid-September; heavy rains arrived towards the end, but we had to sacrifice only a few rows. Overall, a good, well-balanced year.

Winter was amazingly warm, characterised, like spring, by frequent, heavy rainfall. Summer, though, brought lower-than-average temperatures, again with frequent rains and unusually high levels of humidity. We started the harvest after mid-September, and it was quite challenging: we had to perform a rigorous selection of the clusters, eliminating a lot of fruit ruined by such unusual weather. This led to a reduction in crop levels, and we decided not to produce our finest reds, Atis and Jassarte.

This growing year will surely be remembered as one of the finest of the last decade. Winter and spring brought plentiful rains and generally mild temperatures. Summer, however, was very hot and dry. The ripening process was regular and consistent. Vineyard operations focued on containing the sheer power of the season, so that the wines, would display balance and a certain elegance. Fine weather prevailed even through the harvest, which started in early September.

Still a high level vintage. The winter was very dry and mild, springtime very rainy. At the blossoming the climate was still very cool, causing a delay of the development. It followed a very hot and dry summer, mitigated by brief rains. The harvest began on September 12th and ended in the first week of October, speeding up the work in the last week to finish before the weather started to get worse. It was very important the management of the vintage power.

The vintage was marked by the great dryness, with summer temperatures above the average, returned fresher during the ripening. This climate has inhibited the development of diseases but also the production of vines. We began the harvest the last days of August and ended by the end of September. We produced healthy grapes, concentrated, with good acidity, selected to avoid the dried bunches. The vintage with the lowest amount of production.

A very regular and fresh vintage. The spring was very rainy, recovering the intense dryness of the last year. The summer was instead as usual, warm and dry, with some brief refreshing rain. The ripening of the grapes was very regular and longer than usual. In the second half of September a noticeable decrease of temperature, with dry and windy weather, will contribute to a vintage of great elegance.

Vintage with climatic contrasts but in general very good. After a rainy winter, spring started hot and dry, then changed into a rainy May with low temperatures and a delay for all following stages of the vines. The summer had peaks of great heat, but without humidity. The harvest began in mid-September and ended in early October, always in good weather. The grapes were balanced, with low pH and good acidity, sweet tannins, complex aromas. We returned to an optimal production quantity after a very poor 2017 and the partial recovery of 2018.

Annate-Guado2020

This year will sadly remain in history as the year of the Covid19 virus. From a viticulture point of view, however, it was a very interesting vintage, which tend more to elegance than to concentration. It was a very regular, with a sufficiently rainy winter and a spring with very low phytosanitary risks for the grapes. The summer was mild, with an excellent ventilation and only few periods with hot temperatures. We started the harvest with a perfect weather, on September 15th. The end of the month was accompanied by a significant drop in temperatures. We concluded the harvest on the 2nd October, without any problem.

2021 850x850

2021 was an excellent year for the wine, with a very regular seasonal trend. The intense rains of the winter period perfectly supported the vineyard throughout the production phase, despite a very dry-windy summer, but with mild temperatures. We started the harvest on September 17th with Vermentino. For the reds, we started with the earliest varieties on September 22nd and finished October 1st with Cabernet Sauvignon.