‘Giugiu’ Sesti reports on the 2007 growing season and vintage in southern Tuscany as observed from his hilltop south west of Montalcino.
The weather patterns during the year were quite anomalous. To start we had a very warm and dry winter, so mild that the vines began their vegetative development ahead of time making them vulnerable to possible freak late frosts. For this reason we decided to postpone the pruning till late to discourage the plants starting early.
The delayed pruning worked out very well but was unnecessary as the mild temperatures continued till the month of May. Finally the much needed rain came and stayed well into June followed by very hot, sunny weather that, as a consequence, evolved the grapes a bit ahead of time.
The most important and positive characteristic of the summer was that the temperatures in August were lower than usual; as a result the grapes normalized their phenological evolution into a perfect balance. It was fascinating to watch nature performing a play that kept us on our toes till the very end, and resulted in one of the best vintages I have ever had, to be added to the beautiful crescendo of 2004, 2005, and 2006.
The most important and positive characteristic of the summer was that the temperatures in August were lower than usual; as a result the grapes normalized their phenological evolution into a perfect balance. It was fascinating to watch nature performing a play that kept us on our toes till the very end, and resulted in one of the best vintages I have ever had, to be added to the beautiful crescendo of 2004, 2005, and 2006.