Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 1945–1989 Vintages

2015: On 14th Oct 2015 at the Boscarelli winery Nicolò de Ferrari Corradi told me 2015 was a strange harvest. Boscarelli normally take 4 weeks to harvest (sand, clay, young, old) but 2015 was more uniform than normal, and took only 20 days (had to get more pickers than normal). On 21 October 2015 at Croce di Febo Mauro Monicchi said 2015 produced high acid but high pH wines (unusual); risk of green or vegetal flavours; those who work well will get pretty good results (not over-extracting, being careful with tannin management, watching the progress of the MLF).“Good year. Hot spring but enough water. Healthy crop. Just the right number of grapes because the previous season in 2014 was cloudy = less fruit in 2015. Then came the heat. August was dry. The second half of August was wet which which OK for maturation. Sept was a very nice month. The tramontana (a cold but dry wind from the north) dried the grapes which helped because Montepulciano is normally a humid zone. Had time to pick. Balanced green and autumn wind,’ (visit to Avignonesi 22nd October 2015). ‘A good year – no hail.’ (Cristian Pepi of Talosa).

2014: On 14th Oct 2015 at the Boscarelli winery Nicolò de Ferrari Corradi told me the 2014 vintage was tough. Winter was hot (lack of dormancy) and wet (helping over-wintering pests). Budburst was early. Summer was wet and cool = long growing season. The leaves kept growing all the way through = hard to control. Wet soil in August. Total rainfall was 1,300mm (whereas 800 mm is normal). Lack of heat. “2014. Tough. Productive from the start. Potential for lack of health. Needed to work hard. In June lots of grapes. Dropped yield. At veraison still too much yield so again had to drop grapes. Fluid wines, fresh. Lots of work for a small volume of OK grapes,’ (visit to Avignonesi 22nd October 2015). Wines were “Aromatic, cruda, tannins a bit rough, lacking dolcezza (softness, dry tannins.’ (Cristian Pepi of Talosa).

2013:  “Bad year. Twice as much work for same yield as 2012,” Andrea Rossi of Podere della Brusciata told me in Sant’Albino Wednesday 14 October 2015.
On 14th Oct 2015 at the Boscarelli winery Nicolò de Ferrari Corradi told me the 2013 vintage was wet and humid, like 2014. But 2013 looks great after 2014 which was very bad, the grapes were good, better than 2014. Rainfall was 900mm, so a bit higher than the average. Summer lacked enough real heat. Had to select and pick bit by bit as hard for grapes to ripen after the cool summer. The rain was not so bad in the sense the vineyards really needed it after 2012, they drank it up. It was hot – so with the rain conditions were humid = risk of rot and exploding berries. A good vintage for sandier areas (Cervognano, Argiano).
“2013. Transition after the extreme heat of 2012. Back to normality. Rained in spring. No diseases. Vegetative growth was OK. But 2013 lacked the stupendous autumn of 2015. Good enough yield and good enough quality,’ (visit to Avignonesi 22nd October 2015).
‘The consorzio gave 2013 ****. I do not like this vintage. 2.5 stars for me.’ (Cristian Pepi of Talosa).

2012: On 14th Oct 2015 at the Boscarelli winery Nicolò de Ferrari Corradi told me the 2012 vintage had only 400mm of water. It was hot during the day but the nights were not too bad in summer (unlike 2003). “Although [2012 is] one of the hottest and driest vintages on record in Italy, the Consorzio nevertheless has already given it a 5-star rating, its highest. We will have to be patient to see if this assessment proves to be over enthusiastic, as seems the general opinion at the moment,” (Speller, W: 10 Apr 2013). “Too hot and dry, did not rain enough, very little rain, dried grapes, lots of sugar, small amount of juice, small yields,” Andrea Rossi of Podere della Brusciata told me in Sant’Albino Wednesday 14 October 2015. “2012. Dry. Did not rain. Not much vegetation (“bonsai vines”). Small bunches, small grapes. Very low yields. Deep wines. Tannic,’ (visit to Avignonesi 22nd October 2015). ‘2012 was good, very good, dry.’ (Cristian Pepi of Talosa).

2011: “Very good year, healthy grapes which ripened well,” Andrea Rossi of Podere della Brusciata told me in Sant’Albino Wednesday 14 October 2015. “Avignonesi reports that the 2011 harvest began earlier than in average years, due to the long, dry, and hot summer. White grapes were picked in late August and the early-ripening red grapes at the beginning of September, while the vineyard crew is now turning all its attention to the Sangiovese. Italy has been enjoying a very hot spell and grapes are particularly ripe and healthy,” (Robinson, J: 23 Sep 2011).  “2011. Hot. Did rain, there was water in the  soil to offset the abnormal heat. Hot wind (sirocco – hot and humid). Very early veraison, from late July/early August. Then the sun hit. Deydrated grapes. Wines with an extrovert nose, but giving lots of heat in the mouth,’ (visit to Avignonesi 22nd October 2015). On 14th Oct 2015 at the Boscarelli winery Nicolò de Ferrari Corradi told me the 2011 vintage was OK. At the end of August and into the first week of September it was very, very hot, very sunny, extreme. Even grapes on the east-facing (morning sun) side of the bunch got burnet. Up until mid-Aug it was a good season: green leaves, no real extremes, a nice hot year then, from mid-August 15-20 days of really serious heat. ‘2011 was a very good year for us.’ (Cristian Pepi of Talosa).

2011 Production “1,300 ha of vineyards registered for the production of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. It is the smallest (and the least well known) of the Tuscan DOCG denominations, with Chianti Classico a considerable 7,000 ha, and Montalcino some 2,000 ha. It is also the most discreet,” (Speller, W: 03 Mar 2011).

2011 Sales “A propos sales: of the 7.5 million bottles of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano produced, some 60% is sold abroad. Germany, with 45% of those exports, is its keenest taker, while Switzerland and the US each take 15%. The UK manages to absorb 4%, which may not seem much but is impressive when compared with the 9% accounted for by the rest of Europe. I personally think that the UK sales could be increased if the Consorzio showed up in London regularly, but that seems unlikely now that the EU hands out substantial marketing budgets for spending outside of Europe only. Sales abroad increased by 2% last year, and so it seems that for Vino Nobile, as for Chianti Classico, the answer to declining domestic sales has been to increase exports,” (Speller, W: 06 Mar 2012).

2010 On 14th Oct 2015 at the Boscarelli winery Nicolò de Ferrari Corradi told me the 2010 vintage began with a spring which was not too wet, just enough; a hot but not extreme summer. Got good acidity. Managed to pick it ripe in stages. Seemed like a 2008 with a bit more flavour and balance – balanced. Had rain at harvest. When tasting it showed really well. Subtle fruit. Il Macchione sent me these comments on 2010 (abridged): heavy rainfall in spring; nice weather from mid-June with no excesses: good sun, good day-night temperature variation, and just enough rain “[Compared to 2009], 2010 was a pleasant surprise, and a much more even vintage than in Chianti Classico. There is intense, sweet fruit, which sometimes tends to be a little jammy, probably caused by prolonged hang time to get the tannins ripe during a rather cool growing cycle. That 2010 is a cooler vintage than 2009 is also evidenced by its rather big tannic structure and highish acidity. But although that made it at times a little hard to taste, resulting occasionally in a harsh, dry finish, the tannins and acidity also prevented the 2010 wines from becoming too overpoweringly fruit driven. But the ageing potential of the 2010 vintage is obvious and in general the wines need it to shed their intense charge of fruit,” (Speller, W: 10 Apr 2013). ‘2010 was good. But not stratospheric.’ (Cristian Pepi of Talosa).

2009 On 14th Oct 2015 at the Boscarelli winery Nicolò de Ferrari Corradi told me 2009 was neither really hot nor really cold. The only risk he said was blocked maturation due to heat spikes. The ‘2009 was good but low yields.’ (Cristian Pepi of Talosa). On 14th Oct 2015 at the Boscarelli winery Nicolò de Ferrari Corradi told me the 2009 wines were balanced from the start with good extract.

2008: Growing seasoned had variable weather. A mild winter with slightly below-average rainfall was followed by a fairly early budbreak. Fruit set was delayed by the onset of unsettled rainy weather from the beginning of May well into June, increasing fungal pressure in the vineyards. From mid June warm to very warm weather prevailed with little or no rainfall. This continuing dry weather well into August slowed down fruit development, in some cases halting ripening altogether. Rain and cool termperatures arrived in September delaying grape ripening further. Temperatures rose again in the second half of September, accelerating grape ripening. The weather remained fine throughout the harvest until the first week of October,”

2008 Growing season: Early budbreak Unsettled, wet weather in May-June. Hot in the run-up to harvest. A mild winter with slightly below-average rainfall was followed by a fairly . Fruit set was delayed by the onset of unsettled rainy weather from the beginning of May well into June, increasing fungal pressure in the vineyards. From mid June warm to very warm weather prevailed with little or no rainfall. This continuing dry weather well into August slowed down fruit development, in some cases halting ripening altogether. Rain and cool termperatures arrived in September delaying grape ripening further. Temperatures rose again in the second half of September, accelerating grape ripening. The weather remained fine throughout the harvest until the first week of October,” (Speller, W: 03 Mar 2011). Nicolò de Ferrari Corradi from Boscarelli told me at the winery on 14th Oct 2015 that some cold periods, from the end of July into the start of Aug (25ºC in the day when 30+ is normal) meant it was hard to get everything ripe. “The resulting wines seem already quite evolved and, in general, for mid-term cellaring only,” (Speller, W: 03 Mar 2011). ‘OK, rained.’ (Cristian Pepi of Talosa).

2007 Nicolò de Ferrari Corradi from Boscarelli told me at the winery on 14th Oct 2015 that 2007 was good, but not quite mature enough, elegance, nice aromas but little riserva made.

2006: ‘Hot.’ (Cristian Pepi of Talosa).

2005: ‘2005 Growing season ‘Bad, as wet’ (Cristian Pepi of Talosa).

2004: 2004 Roughly 1,974ha of vineyards (including 366 ha of Colli Senesi) of which 1,223ha are for Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, 358ha are for Rosso di Montepulciano, and 28ha are for Vin Santo. There are 294 producers of which 65 bottle Vino Nobile di Montepulciano (far fewer than Montalcino) and 200 bottle Rosso. Around 5 million bottles of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and 2 million bottles of Rosso di Montepulciano.

2003: A particularly hot and difficult vintage. The harvest had to be called a month earlier than is usual in this area, as temperatures reached record heights and the grapes attained very high sugar levels: at the beginning of September, they were already well over the averages usually found in October. On 14th Oct 2015 at the Boscarelli winery Nicolò de Ferrari Corradi told me that in 2003 it hot both during the day and at night = rolled leaves.

2010 Sales “Vino Nobile’s sales statistics seem to defy the downward trend which currently plague so many wine regions in Europe. While the share of wines sold abroad declined in 2010 from 68% in 2009 to 59%, in the same period its domestic sales increased from 32% to 42%. On the domestic market, 60% of the wine is sold locally within Tuscany while cellar-door sales account for 11%. Outside of Italy Vino Nobile’s most important export markets are Germany (37%) and Switzerland (19%), followed by the US (14%) and the UK (11%),” (Speller, W: 03 Mar 2011).