Harvest Vintage 2016

In recent years, the 2016 harvest was certainly one of the longest, in terms of duration. The month of January and the first part of February were characterized by mild temperatures and low rainfall. Then at the end of February and throughout the month of March the temperatures dropped and rainfall was abundant so as to provide a good water reserve to the soil. The late "cold" generated a delay in the vegetative restart of about ten days compared to the previous year. Spring began with appreciable rains which, however, did not cause phytopathological damage as they were combined with a not particularly sensitive vegetative stage with low average temperatures. The vegetative delay lasted until the end of summer, which also started late but lasted until the end of September. The Barbera harvest took place in two stages, the first of which was on 29th September. The second on October 9th. The Langhe Nebbiolo was harvested between 6 and 8 October. The soils in which Langhe Nebbiolo is grown are of a more sandy composition at a lower altitude (between 300 and 340 m a.s.l.) and this determines its maturation earlier than the Nebbiolo da Barolo vineyards. As far as Barolo is concerned, the harvest took place in the third week of October. The climatic trend with temperatures that are not too high and a discrete temperature difference between day and night, has favored a complete maturation both from a technological and phenological point of view with good total acidity but low malic acid content, intense colour, tannins with a dense texture and elegant. Overall, the 2016 Barolo is characterized by excellent balance, intense and persistent aromas, excellent structure and good drinkability from a young age but I think it still has to grow and will give its best in a few years