The vintages

2023 began mildly with temperatures above the long-term average. The winter months were relatively dry, but March already brought abundant rainfall. This led to a slight cooling, which fortunately delayed bud break. Around April 14th, however, the time had come, and the first shoots appeared. The last days of April and all of May were characterized by average humidity and temperatures, leading to a significant increase in disease pressure, and it became evident to growers that this was going to be a labor-intensive year even before flowering. June brought some relief, but July was again very wet. Unfortunately, there were also some hailstorms, the most impressive of which occurred on the evening of July 11th, when hailstones over 5 centimeters (2 inches) in diameter fell in the Novacella area. Fortunately, the weather calmed down from mid-August and the summer ended dry and beautiful. This favorable turn allowed the grapes to recover and end up being of satisfactory quality. Harvesting started on September 18th, roughly in line with the average of recent years. As the ripening progressed rapidly, even in higher altitudes, the last grapes were already harvested on October 11th, with a total quantity similar to that of the previous year.

 

The year 2023 is shaping up to be a good vintage for white wines. The wet weather led to a reduced sugar development in the grapes, and warm days and cool nights in the final ripening phase resulted in appealing acidity levels.

 

Similarly, 2023 is a good vintage for reds, producing elegant and invigorating wines. Compared to the 2022 vintage, they show less body and more freshness.

2022 began with an exceptionally dry winter and little snowfall. January was very sunny and dry with new record warmth; this trend continued throughout February. March was a little cooler. April started with cool temperatures, bud break was delayed a bit and took place around April 20th. Fortunately, there were no late frosts so the young shoots made it through spring without any damage. An exceptionally warm May accelerated growth and already by month’s end, the vines began to flower. The summer was characterized by warm and dry weather, fortunately without any extreme weather events.  The onset of the ripening of the grapes started early in the first week of August and was the prelude to an extremely early harvest that in fact began on September 7th, twenty days earlier than last year. 

 

Unlike previous years, harvest happened almost simultaneously at both the Marklhof location and at Novacella. During harvest the weather was consistently good however, due to the earlier start date, it was warmer than average. As the different grape varieties showed a similar ripening process, the harvest progressed very quickly and was already complete 20 days later. Due to the dry summer the grapes were very healthy with a fairly higher sugar content. In terms of quantity, the year was very satisfactory as well- the harvest volume was almost 10 percent higher than last year.

 

2022 is again an excellent vintage for white wines. The very high-quality grapes lead to full-bodied and structured wines. In terms of quality, we consider it at the same level as the 2021 vintage. Unlike the latter, which was mainly distinguished by its crispy freshness, the wines of the 2022 can be characterized by their structure and body.

 

2022 was also perfect for our red wines, especially for Lagrein and Schiava. These show fruitiness, full-body structure with fine tannins. Also, the Pinot Noir was able to develop optimally; compared to 2021, it has more fruit and body. 

The 2021 vintage growing season started in December with rainy/snowy conditions- we had a lot of rainy days with also low temperature conditions that remained for the majority of the winter season with snow covered vineyards around the monastery. March and April were unseasonably cold months and for this reason the vines had not yet started blooming. Between April 10-20 there were also frost situations, however, we were able to surpass any damage because of the initial lateness of budding from the colder temperatures. At the end of April we did start to see the beginnings of budding even though cooler temperature persisted into May. Budding officially started the second half of June which is typically 2 weeks later than usual. June and July were hotter and more humid than the average which caused big challenges in the vineyards. Hail happened over our vineyards in both Marklhof (July 13) as well as in Novacella at the monastery (August 1). Fortunately after a very humid start to August, the last half of the month we had exceptional weather - dry and hot.  Because of the late budding, the ripening of the grapes was also delayed. Any damaged grapes from the hailstorms dried up and fell off the vines. Harvest started 10 days later than usual at the monastery on Sept 26 - due to the high pressure system during the whole month of September but, 10 days earlier in Marklhof. Cool nights and hot days continued and made for uniformed, healthy grapes with average alcohol levels and higher than average acidic levels. Thanks to these favorable conditions, the fermentation process was perfect and provided excellent results.

 

The 2021 vintage for our white wines is decisively exciting with the high standards of Valle Isarco region. They are very fresh with great minerality and very crisp acidity. Because of the favorable conditions in the fall - cool days and warm nights - they are very fruity representations of the varietal. In our opinion the 2021 vintage for our white wines is perfect.

 

 As for the red wines, our Lagrein is really something to talk about. It is a result of the perfect Fall weather where we had healthy mature grapes, resulting in very fruitful wines with soft tannins. The same can be said for our varietals that derive from Schiava. Pinot Nero on the other hand seems to be a little less linear, due to the earlier harvest of Pinot Nero (in Marklhof). The grapes could only partially ripen due to the adverse summer weather conditions and this resulted in less sugar content than usual. The wine is a little less full bodied than past vintages.

After a snowy winter, bud break started quite early. Already on April 10, on the sunny sites around the monastery, we saw the first shoots. Thanks to mild spring weather, there were no problems with frost. During the summer the conditions were good as well, with normal temperatures and average rainfall. There were no extreme weather event and so harvest started about 10 days early on September 14th. Unfortunately, the autumn was a little bit rainy and therefore the diurnal temperature shift was less extreme than usual. In order to get healthy grapes, the harvest dates were brought forward and so harvest was already completed by mid-October. The wines of the 2020 vintage are delicate, fresh and fruity with moderate alcohol and an appealing acidity. Similar to the 2019 vintage.

The capricious weather conditions left its mark in the vineyards, so the diligent work of our winegrowers was even more important. The frost night in May and the hailstorm in August put the vegetation in the vineyard to a hard test. Nevertheless, thanks to the wonderful autumn weather with warm days and cold nights the harvest went very well. „2019 is a vintage that reflects our terroir. The wines present themselves very fruity and typical of their variety, with fresh and pleasant acidity.“ – summarizes our winemaker Celestino Lucin. All in all, 2019 presents itself as an exceptional vintage with lower quantity but convincing levels of quality.

After a long winter with lots of snow, bud break was later than usual. Ideal weather during flowering season favored a good quantity of bunches per plant. The summer months were mostly warm and dry and, growth accelerated and, as a consequence, the harvest season begun as usual by mid-September. During harvest the weather was again warm and dry and the grapes could be picked with perfect ripeness and a high sugar level. Therefore 2018 was an ideal vintage from qualitative and from quantitative point of view. The 2018 wines are full-bodied and complex with sufficient freshness and juiciness which distinguishes them from the previous vintages. Nevertheless, they reflect typical character of the wines from Valle Isarco.