After a cold winter with very little rain, the vintage started with a regular sprouting. The growth of the sprout has been slow due to the low temperatures and the abundant rainfalls from April to June, therefore slowing the blossoming.
Summer has been very hot and because of the lack of rain vines have suffered an hydric stress that have delayed the veraison. A wonderful October has followed a cool Septmeber, allowing the full ripening of the grapes even if with 10 day of delay compared to regular vintages.
The vintage has started with a mild winter and a spring with normal temperature but scarse rainfalls. Summer has been hot and dry and the temperatures have slightly dropped during August to rise again in September.
All the phenolic phases of the vines (sprouting, blossoming, veraison and ripening) have been anticipated of about 10 day.
The yeild has been very low but with great quality and concentration.
We had typical spring weather with a fair amount of rain between cool and warm spells. The vines budded and flowered successfully and the fruit set well.
On the other hand, summer was not promising, with a very dry June followed by a hot July during which there was fortunately enough rain for the vines to develop well. In early August, as usual, the grapes turned dark, but they ripened very slowly due to a very worrying cool, wet August. Luckily the weather greatly improved at the end of the month and was beautiful throughout September and most of October, allowing the grapes to mature properly with an excellent sugar content, quantity of polyphens and aroma.
The 2006 vintage has intense colour, a rich nose and excellent structure and promises to age very well.
The characteristic of 2005 year was the alternation of dry and hot periods with wet and relatively cold ones.
The ripeness of grapes occurred slowly with a good development of aromatic components. The harvest was late, compared to the previous years, but a strict and rigid selection of bunches of grapes gave us the opportunity to bring in the cellar healthy and ripe grapes that enabled a regular fermentation. This brought the result of wines with a good aromatic character and a good balance between acidity and alcoholic concentration.
Now it is too early to give a judgment for 2005 wines, but we can say that we can expect wines that will evolve well and that will be very enjoyable.
Finally in 2004 the harvest lived up to all its expectations and didn't make us suffer like the two previous ones did. In April and May the temperatures were below average, so the vines germinated late. However, thanks to abundant rain in May the
vines absorbed a good reserve of water for the summer months.
Because it soon became apparent that 2004 would be a very fruitful year, we worked hard in the vineyards using all the necessary cultivation techniques to ensure that the vines would keep healthy and well balanced.
Excellent September temperatures meant that the grapes kept all their scent. We started picking our early harvest at the end of August, while the late ripening grapes were harvested at the end of September.
Despite rain just before the harvest, all the grapes were very healthy when they arrived in the cellars and the rain obviously contributed to this.
2003 was a truly exceptional year despite the very unusual weather conditions. On April 5th an unseasonal and very hard frost destroyed about 20% of the new buds. The very low rainfall throughout the summer and high temperatures starting from May that reached up to 35°C in July and August were hard on the vines which, however, reacted very positively, insuring early and perfect maturation of the grapes with exceptional amounts of polyphenols. Our production was about 40% lower than average, but the 2003 Castello di Volpaia wines are a wonderful colour, have great structure and will undoubtedly prove to age exceptionally well.
The draught also drastically reduced our olive production, but the oil has a particularly intense scent and is specially pleasing to the palate.
Although the year started well with an early, warm spring, at Volpaia we'll never forget the very rainy summer that followed. Fortunately we enjoyed a sunny and breezy September so that things turned out better than expected. Production was fairly small and the grapes had to be carefully chosen before picking because they didn't all ripen satisfactorily. However the wines are fruity, vivacious and pleasing.
Our 2002 oil is also particularly good, being slightly sweeter than usual and very fruity.
A very cruel spring with late frosts and heavy hail that damaged the buds, was followed by a splendid summer. As it was not too hot and relatively dry, the grapes ripened well. We started picking on 10th September and finished about a month later. And, although the harvest was small, generally speaking the quality was good. The 2001 wines are rich in colour, have a good tannic structure and promise to age very well.
The olives benefited from the good summer. We picked from November 5th through December 10th and the oil we produced was deep green and sharply flavoured.
The year was characterised by a very hot dry summer which ripened the grapes early and even dried some slightly. We started picking in ideal conditions in early September and, in effect, were finished by the end of the month. The 2000 wines have a particularly intense colour and a bouquet of very ripe fruit, occasionally with a whiff of jam. They are well structured and generally very pleasing.
Due to a rainy period after the harvest, we started picking the olives on November 1oth and finished half way through December. Because of the dry summer, the olive harvest and quantity of oil were well below average. The oil , however, has a delicate flavour.
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