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 Eleven Tuscan Consortiums
There are 16 consortia participating in the annual event of ‘Wine Tuscany’- 11 of which participating together under the same roof are- Morellino di Scansano, Montecucco, Maremma Toscana, Cortona, Carmignano, Valdarno di Sopra, Bianco di Pitigliano e Sovana, Orcia, Val di Cornia and Isola d’Elba. The 2016 vintage appears to have been good to very good in these 11 areas.
I had a long talk to Beatrice Contini Bonacossi of Tenuta di Capezzano in Carmignano who thought that it was better than 2015 as they had no rot or mildew at all and the grapes were perfectly healthy. Overall, good weather, enough rain for there to be no hydric stress and vintaging under good conditions provided perfect raw material. Good winds kept rot away. They are organic but the vines needed no special treatment. Wines are high in alcohol but elegant. Several other producers from other consortia agreed with all this.
Chianti Classico 2016
 The Consortium and its Chairman Sergio Zingarelli says, “the 2016 vintage promises to be excellent starting with the flawless quality of the grapes, which were rich in extract thanks to the fairly regular weather condition. The wines are well structured. There was a lack of rain during colour change, but any drought was relieved by rain in late August and September. Steady, warm weather without peaks of excessive heat (like in 2015) in the final month maintained the balance and helped the grapes reach optimum ripeness without over-maturation. Marked temperature variation between day and night will translate into wines with high quality aromas and acidity. The high standard of quality will enhance the characteristics of the Sangiovese grape – rich extract, anthocyanins, polyphenols and unique highly focused varietal aromas”.
This is the 300th anniversary and thus a fine vintage was greatly to be desired! Badia di Coltibuono says “a great year. There was hail and some loss of crop, but grapes were healthy after a hot summer, enough rain and a fine autumn. It was a smaller crop than in 2015, but better quality”.
Castello di Albola says, “A small crop in Radda due to rain during flowering. Colour change went perfect. No rot or mildew and excellent steady maturation and phenolic ripeness. July and August not too hot so no hydric stress. Good canopy management avoided humidity and encouraged open bunches and very gentle handling retained maximum colour. The new clones also have deeper colour.”
 Antinori nel Chianti Classico said, “Sangiovese was especially good in 2016 with excellent acidities and sweet, ripe polyphenols. Big day and night temperature variations helped flavour and bouquet. Late vintaging from 25th September to 15th October. No rot or mildew. An attack in spring was dried out in June. Summer was not too hot and there was no shut-down. New clones and less yield are giving more colour and intensity”.
Castello di Gabbiano said, “in 2016 the ratio of skin to pulp was 50/50, which is less pulp than previously. We are now using entirely the clones from the ‘2000 Chianti Classico Selection’. A fine and elegant vintage. Excellent ripening weather with long maturation gave lots of fruit both on the nose and the palate.” They waited until 10th October to pick their top-quality grapes. Grapes achieved full tannic ripeness, soft and silky, and cool nights preserved acidities and dynamic freshness.
Finally, Machiavelli, my hero said, “90% new clone Sangiovese gave deep, black colour. Tannins granular and voluminous, but ripe. A big, structured and powerful wine, spicy and powerful it needs time and is made to age”.
San Gimignano
 The 2016 vintage was a fine one here. The Consortium says, “A dry, ventilated summer produced healthy grapes, giving balanced wines perfectly in line with the sensorial characteristics of the variety”.
I talked to numerous producers. It was a helpfully wet winter, but overall the growing season was drier here than in Chianti. The season started poorly with a rainy spring and poor weather during bud-break. Growers had to spray weekly. Some rain in early June and then late June and July were quite fine and hot, 30°C – 35°C. The summer was fine and hot, but not excessively so apart from a very hot 10-day spell in August, and there was enough summer rain to avoid hydric stress, particularly on clay soils.
With good yields, the wines are elegant but less concentrated than 2015 whose production was 30% less. Best producers had approximately 1-1.5 kilos of grapes per vine. Grapes were perfectly healthy and there was neither rot nor mildew. The fine August was followed by a beautiful, sunny September. Picking was from around 10th September and enjoyed fine, dry weather apart from 3 days of rain.
 One grower said he had his best grapes before the rains and had to wait until 20th to pick them. Grapes were medium small and the malic acid content was very low. Large variation between day and night temperatures helped both flavour and bouquet. Acidity was excellent because of the fresh nights.
Winter had above average temperatures with very few frosts. Rainfall was more abundant than average which compensated the very dry previous autumn- 150mm in February. Overall warm and wet. March was stable, but very warm late in the month. April was very warm and dry. Rapid and uniform bud-break between 26 March – 6th April. May and June were cooler and rainier than average until 21st June when temperatures shot up. There was considerable pressure from cryptogrammic diseases. Development was slow and regular.
Flowering started from 22nd May under highly irregular weather conditions, was protracted and finished around 15th June. Fruit set was consequently somewhat deficient and bunches were straggly. July was a splendid month with enough rain, lots of sunshine and fine, hot weather never exceeding 35°C. Hydric stress was limited. Colour change began at the end of the month and was protracted (25th July – 24th August). A good August with timely rains on 6th and heavy rains on 30th, was so abundant that the size of the berries increased significantly. This caused a further setback to the irregular ripening caused by the protracted flowering and in addition caused botrytis spotting.
Total August rainfall was 100mm, but although some stagnant rainwater brought on the beginnings of rot and mildew good and strong winds helped dry out the vines. September was a fine month, average for both sun and rain. October was very fresh and with 131mm of rain. Ripening arrived between end September and first decade October. The vintage began around 20th September. Meticulous hand selection of the bunches in every plot was essential. One can sum up by saying it was a fine, but difficult and volatile year, overall fresh, limited hydric stress, good phenolic ripeness, deep coloured, very aromatic, fine and dense tannic structure and with optimum acidity.
When I talked to Falsini he said that, although 2015 was awarded 5 stars, he personally preferred 2016 and thinks that it will last longer. It has greater elegance and refinement. I agreed with him.
Montalcino
 I was fortunate enough to sit between two producers at the Gala Dinner and milked them for information unmercifully. One was my dear friend Candace Máté of Máté Winery. She agreed with the five- star award. She had absolutely no rot or mildew during the growing season and could pick grapes in perfect condition and at optimum ripeness. Fermentation went smoothly, colours are deep and intense, perfumes are exotic and first tastings show richness, depth and balance. At the same time yields are more than respectable and Candace is well content. Her wines are deep coloured and perfumed.
The other grower agreed in general, but said that she had had attacks of mildew in late Spring, which she had had to treat, but these were dried out in June and she had no further trouble during the ripening period. Her yield was less than Candace, but she was very happy about the quality.
It is difficult to generalise the weather over a large area as Tuscany but it does appear that 2016 will turn out to be even a better vintage than 2015 though a bit difficult in certain parts.
For the earlier Article on Anteprima Tuscany 2017, kindly visit: Anteprime Toscane: The Tuscan Marathon 2017
John Salvi, Master of Wine |