The 2016 vintage began with a winter that was warmer and drier than usual. However, colder and more humid months of March and April ensured the date of bud break was not so very different from the norm..
Bud break was dominated by moderate temperatures and a rainy spring. The vineyard sprung to life with the presence of an increased number of grape bunches.
However, the increased number of bunches was not accompanied by a good fruit set rate, which was deficient due to low soil moisture, lack of sunlight, and strong winds at that time.
The summer was slightly warmer and drier than normal, which limited the development of the berries and determined a smaller size than usual.
The ripening period was affected by a particularly intense heat wave at the end of August – beginning of September. This had different effects on the diverse varieties given that, despite the earlier varieties seeing an accelerated sugar accumulation process, in the later varieties it had the opposite effect by limiting the photosynthetic activity of the plant.
Other than this, the period of maturation and harvesting took place without rainfall, so the sanitary quality has been satisfactory and the yields are around the average of recent years.
The result has been the production of white wines with an adequate balance between sugar and acidity, and a production of aromas on a par with other years.
In the case of red wines, the smaller berry size has generated high tannic concentration, with more structured and deeply coloured wines.