Vintage 2021

One thing was already certain shortly before the harvest: there will be less wine in Italy with the 2021 vintage. Despite this decline in volume, Italy still remains the number one wine-producing country in Europe, ahead of Spain and France. Not all wine regions in Italy recorded declines. The most affected is Tuscany with more than 20% less harvest, which combined with rising costs for glass, capsules, cartons and last but not least energy and logistics will lead to noticeably higher prices. Only three regions recorded increasing harvest volumes in 2021: Calabria, Sicily and Campania.

The reasons for the decline to an almost historic level are obvious. On the one hand, there were exceptional weather events, including a drop in temperature and frosts in April, which particularly affected the buds of early varieties. In the summer, storms and in some cases hail also occurred in the north-east, while at the same time southern regions suffered from an early heatwave with temperatures of more than 40°C. In August, however, the weather calmed down in all places. In August, however, the situation calmed down everywhere and the state of health and the grape quality were consistently good to very good.

If you talk to the winegrowers in the individual regions, some of whom are already bringing the first bottles of the new vintage to market, they are unanimously relaxed, even relieved, that the year has resulted in good to very good quality after so many weather capers. We have collected a few voices for you over the last few weeks:

In South Tyrol, for example, Hans Terzer, cellarmaster of the St. Michael-Eppan winery and chairman of the South Tyrolean cellarmasters, is pleased: "We are very satisfied with all the varieties. Pinot Blanc and Pinot Grigio score with beautiful minerality and lots of structure, Sauvignon with ripe fruit and beautiful acidity, Gewürztraminer with elegant structure, Riesling, Sylvaner and Veltliner with classic aromas and youthful freshness," says Terzer. "Only Chardonnay had a smaller harvest in 2021 than the other varieties, but the quality was also good.

At Alois Lageder, they rate the 2021 vintage equally highly: "For many years, we haven't had such cool nights between July and September as in 2021. This resulted in good aromatics and a refreshing acidity of the grapes, which supports our wine style. Juicy, vertical, salty and full of tension present themselves in our white wines, the red wines, on the other hand, stand out with this vintage – we are convinced – with a very high ageing potential."

We stay in South Tyrol, more precisely at the Cantina Bolzano. With 224 cooperative members, the Cantina Bolzano is one of the largest wine cooperatives in South Tyrol. The preliminary conclusion here is also clearly positive: "The quality is undeniably very good, both for the autochthonous varieties and for the international ones. Due to the cool spring temperatures, the grapes had a much lower number of berries, which were also much smaller due to the dry phase in summer. Furthermore, the quality policy of reducing yields paid off. The grapes had a very loose structure and were able to achieve optimal technical and phenolic ripeness while retaining freshness and varietal expression. Accordingly, the sugar gradations were at a similarly high level, as were, interestingly, the acidity values. We can therefore look forward to very concentrated and long-lived wines. The decision of the South Tyrol Wine Consortium to reduce the harvest quantities in a targeted manner also contributed to the high quality. One drop of bitterness remains: The quantity harvested, evenly distributed among the different varieties, is a good 10% below the average of the last few years.

Federica Boffa from the traditional house Pio Cesare in Alba (Piedmont) explains: "This was one of the greatest harvests in the past decade, which yielded outstanding qualities. In September, the daytime temperatures were 25 degrees, and at night it cooled down to ten degrees. These are ideal conditions for Nebbiolo."

In the Maremma, there is satisfaction at Fattoria Le Pupille about a situation that points to an excellent vintage. Ettore Rizzi, agronomist and son of owner Elisabetta Geppetti, expresses his confidence: "The rains in mid-July have provided a sigh of relief by alleviating the water stress and helping to bring the vintage to a good end".

The first impressions after the harvest at Masseto (Tenuta dell'Ornellaia) are already reminiscent of some of the estate's greatest vintages, despite the challenging year with strong climatic contrasts. Although the year 2021 was marked by strong contrasts that once again make the phenomenon of climate change tangible, according to estate director Axel Heinz, its negative effects were ideally cushioned by elementary characteristics such as soil and microclimate. "It is precisely under these conditions that great wines can be created," says Axel Heinz.

In Val d'Orcia, in the realm of Tenuta di Trinoro, one is also more than satisfied. Here, too, the typical problems of the vintage were present, but director Calogero Portannese trusts in the fundamental temperature fluctuations between day and night, which, he says, have made it possible to develop grapes of the highest quality.

In Sicily, on the Mozia estate of the Tasca D'Almerita family, the lack of rain led to an earlier harvest of white Grillo grapes. As Alberto Tasca explains, "the traditional form of trellising made it possible to support the vine during the long dry period – by limiting its vigour and allocating water resources in the best possible way. The grapes were protected from too much sun and grew in excellent balance". And for Nero D'Avola at Tenuta Regaleali, the vintage was excellent from the start with a small drop in production.

In the area around Mount Etna, the summer was hot and dry. Vincenzo Lo Mauro, director of the Passopisciaro winery, helped the vines through this with emergency irrigation at night. "The harvest of the Chardonnay grapes started earlier, just after 15 August. We brought perfect and bouquet-rich grapes to the cellar, which will give a more intense and structured wine." SUPERIORE.DE

In the meantime, nearly 100 wines from the fresh 2021 vintage have already found their way into our air-conditioned warehouse. We hope you enjoy discovering and tasting them!