‘ANOTHER LONG AND COLD VINTAGE’
The 2021 vintage has been a particular harvest, with a bigger volume than the previous vintage, though lower than the past ten years’ average. The wines are showing fresh and delicate, very similar to the 2016 vintage.
We have finished an unusual harvest. Regarding volume, final numbers have not been reported yet but there is enough evidence to confirm we are going to overcome the 22 million quintals, meaning 7% above the previous vintage (2020= 20,5 million qq) and 8% below to the last 10 year´s average volume for the country (2011-2020= 24 million qq).
Regarding quality, we expect fresh and delicate wines, very similar to the 2016 vintage.
The 2020 spring was very dry, with very few frost episodes and no visible damage in the Valle de Uco vineyards, although some areas of eastern Mendoza were affected, especially criollas.
It was a particular frost happened on the early morning of October the 05th. when temperatures went down until -3,5C in the lower areas mainly in the East.
Bud-break started a few days later than usual and phenology began to slow down, it was delayed over a week depending on the area.
The weather in November, when flowering occurs in most areas, was very mild, which allowed for excellent fruit setting and therefore, very good quality bunches.
These favorable conditions continued during summertime until mid-January, when the rainfalls began. The rainy cycle continued during the rest of the month, February and March, and behaved very similarly to the 2016 vintage, which we rank as a VERY good vintage. (Our very best vintage in the last decade has been 2019 so far, followed by 2018 and 2016).
To illustrate how similar both vintages are, in the upper area of the Valle de Uco, between January and March 2016 it rained 315 mm (12.4 in) and in the same period of 2021, 283 mm (11.14 in) accumulated. This meant that the end of veraison and the beginning of ripening occurred under cold and humid weather conditions.
Wet years in Europe are linked with rot and other fungi, but here in our desertic and free drainage soils do not result in the same, especially in Valle de Uco sites like Gualtallary, San Pablo, Altamira or Los Chacayes.
We consider that cold years in particular denote great fruit purity and transparency, with clean and delicate aromas, unlike warm vintages, where the expression becomes more obvious, extroverted but is an expression that declines sooner to tertiary when in bottle.
The harvest of white varieties began, as usual, in mid-January for sparkling wine bases and in February for still and rosé wines.
The lower average temperatures in January and February delayed the cycle from veraison to harvest by ten days to two weeks.
Rainfalls in high areas such as Gualtallary did not generate any inconvenience due to the characteristics of the soils in the area, which have very low retention, and this is translated into no sanitary problems.
The harvest continued at a typical rhythm, keeping a ten-day delay approximately, or bit longer in some vineyards.
The maturity, far from being violent, has been very well accompanied by cool and pleasant days that synchronized the sugar-acidity balance very well.
The quality of the red wines this year looks very promising, with Malbecs plenty of bright color, very good acidity and a delicate flowers, herbs and red fruit aromas.
We expect great quality for the 2021 wines. They will be fresh, with harmonious balance alcohol/acidity, easy to drink when young, but also with excellent ageing potential.
Last 26 vintages (1996-2021):
13 warm: 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2017, 2018 and 2020.
13 cold: 1998, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2021.
EDP
May 10th. 2021