THE 2019 VINTAGE FROM A METEOROLOGICAL POINT OF VIEW

The wine’s history monitored through studies conducted by FoodMicroTeam, Spin-off of the University of Florence.

From plant dormancy to budbreak

The period considered stood out for its generally average temperatures and an accumulation of rainfall in the last months of 2018. There was a lack of rain in the first months of 2019.

From budbreak to flowering

The higher-than-average temperatures recorded in February and March conditioned the budding period, bringing it forward to around 26th March. April and May had incredibly high rainfalls: over 190 mm, about 65% higher compared to historical data. Average temperatures were also exceptional, with values recorded in May over 3°C lower compared to previous vintages. This delayed flowering by about 10 days, occurring around 6th June.

From flowering to veraison

This period, lasting about 54 days, saw a hot, dry June followed by an average July, with rainfall concentrated in just two episodes. Full veraison occurred around 3rd August, slightly later compared to historical data.

From veraison to the harvest

Both August and September had average temperatures and cumulative rainfall. The harvest began on 13th September and continued at intervals up to 29th of the same month, in order to allow the grapes in all our vineyards
to reach optimum ripening.

At Case Basse, the roughly 10 hectares of vineyards of exclusively Sangiovese grapes are planted in a complex ecosystem, made up of a great variety of other plants, animals and insects. Agronomic management is based on maintaining maximum biodiversity through the skilful and balanced use of science, technology, culture and tradition.

Manual canopy management

As usual, shoot thinning started early, around the beginning of May. During subsequent stages, the long canes were never cut (topped), but positioned on special frames above the plants, so as not to alter the natural vigour of the vine. Furthermore, considering the particularly wet spring, the utmost care was paid firstly to the inflorescences and then to the bunches, to try to reduce stagnation of humidity and favour air circulation during the various stages of
side shoot and basal leaf removal.

Phytosanitary management of the vineyard

After the first buds appeared, we constantly mo[1]nitored each vine in order to work out the best protection strategies, with the help of experts in the field. The only tools we decided to use were the necessary amounts of copper and sulphur (in order to respect the vinegrowing ecosystem), the cooperation of natural antagonists and extremely selective plant protection methods for the diffe[1]rent vine diseases.

Care, measure, attention, consistency.

Bunch selection

Looking after the perfect health of precious bunches from the earliest stages of development through to the final ripening stage, by means of constant and rational selection, is of primary importance. Manual removal of excess bunches (carried out between the end of May and the middle of June) and those not quite in perfect
condition (which continues right up to the harvest), is fundamental for obtaining top-quality production.

VINEYARD MANAGEMENT
THE HARVEST

Through frequent sampling (more than once a week), we monitored the ripening trend of our Sangiovese 2019 by carrying out sensory assessments and microbiological and chemical-physical analyses on grapes starting from the second ten days in August.

The parameters monitored
In microbiological terms: assessment of microorganism populations present on bunches. In chemical-physical terms: sugars, acidity and pH, potential and extractable anthocyanins, polyphenols, grape seed ripeness. This information, together with irreplaceable tastings, determined the ideal moment: we began harvesting on 13th September.

Toscana IGP 100% Sangiovese

The 2019 vintage was cool and wet, with a very rainy spring and lower temperatures compared to the time series for the past 17 years, followed by a summer without thermal anomalies and with a basically average rainfall.

Careful agronomic management of vineyards, combined with rigorous grape selection, enabled us to obtain high-quality Sangiovese with a perfect degree of ripening.

The graph below shows details of the daily maximum/minimum temperatures and rainfall between 1st October 2018 and 1st October 2019.