FIVE STARS TO THE 2015 GRAPE HARVEST

The ceremony to assign stars to the year’s grape harvest was held this morning.

Bindocci: “This is the vintage par excellence that wine producers have been waiting for
for a long time”

Montalcino, 20 February 2016 – The 2015 vintage earned itself 5 stars, satisfying the producers of Montalcino and recording an exceptionally high level of excellence of the harvested grapes.

“Our Consortium members are extremely satisfied with this grape harvest – commented Fabrizio Bindocci, Chairman of the Consortium. It is without a doubt an excellent vintage the likes of which has not been seen for some years now. There were favourable weather conditions, with a very hot summer but also with enough rain to help the grapes ripen properly. 2015 is a vintage that we will remember not only for this extraordinary harvest, but also for the sales volumes, as they exceeded our expectations”.

Prof. Simone Orlandini, from the Department of Sciences for Agriculture and Food Productions and Environment of the University of Florence, conducted an analysis on meteorological variables and on the most important agro-climatic indicators for 2015, showing “a thermal trend higher than average and with less rain, with few heat waves. During the harvest period, on the other hand, temperatures were slightly below average, with no rainfall”.

From an oenological standpoint, the three experts called in by the Consortium to comment and evaluate the 2015 vintage gave a unanimous opinion. According to Carlo Ferrini, Paolo Caciorgna and Vittorio Fiore, the 2015 vintage is undoubtedly one to be remembered, thanks to the favourable climatic conditions that characterised it and to the producers’ ability to read and anticipate the seasonal changes that actually took place.

“We harvested extremely healthy grapes – commented Ferrini. The musts were rich in colour and had excellent balance. The final result clearly exceeds all expectations”.

“The samplings coming from all the Montalcino territories which we have tasted in order to judge the vintage expressed great potential – stated Caciorgna, with wines featuring good structure and excellent aromatic and polyphenolic balance, perfect for long ageing periods”.

“I have seen over 50 vintages during my career, of which at least 40 at Montalcino – concluded Fiore – and I do not remember any other vintage with such great balance and so productive for long-ageing wines like Brunello”.