When we carry out our multi-year analysis of harvests to compare them, we have learnt that cold vintages are our favorite ones, whether they are dry or wet, especially when it comes to what happens in Valle de Uco. This is because over time, we have been able to verify that wines from cold vintages are particularly elegant and have a longer aging potential than wines from warm vintages.
There have been warm vintages that have resulted in wonderful wines, some of which were very memorable, like the 1999 or 2006 vintage, though none compare to that of 2019, the great cold vintage of the past 30 years at least.
There have also been forgettable harvests in both polar climate regions, such as 2003 and 2017 among the warm ones, and 1998 or 2001 among the cold ones.
What was the weather like throughout the cycle?
At the beginning of the winter, there was heavy snowfall in the high mountains, which lowered the level of the water resource of the entire province, as we had not seen for a long time. For example, it is the first time in decades that we have seen the Mendoza River carrying a large amount of water during last spring.
Rivers, canals, and dams were at their highest historical levels. The aquifers were recovered, and superficial water rights were reinstated with very good flow rates. This meant early abundance of water and well charged soil profiles at the beginning of spring. Meanwhile, we had only one moderately interesting snowfall in the plains.
Spring arrived with a series of unusual events: two frosts took place very close to each other and the extended Zonda winds occurred at critical phenological stages – flowering and fruit set.
The first frost, of low intensity (between -0.5°C and -1°C / 31.1°F and 30.2°F) and duration (between 60-90 minutes depending on the area), occurred during the early hours of November 3rd and then again on November 11th. Both events caused different levels of frost damage depending also on the location: the low-lying areas of Valle de Uco and the high areas, specifically San Pablo, were the most affected places.
During the month of November, extended and intense Zonda winds occurred repeatedly, an event that seldom happens at that time of the year. As a result, the vineyards suffered damages, such as bud breakage and loss of the apex, especially in vineyards with hail nets, due to the constant rubbing of the bud ends against the nets.
Yields in many vineyards of Valle de Uco were affected by both phenomena, late frosts and Zonda wind. This led to reductions ranging from 20 to 30% below their historical yield.
Spring continued dry, with low rainfall levels between October and December (only 37 mm/1.46 inches), which contributed to the health of grapevines.
Summer started with pleasant temperatures, but from the second half of January and throughout most of February, it became very hot, with persistent high maximum, mean, and minimum temperatures until the first week of March.
There were two significant rainfalls, the first one in January, reaching just over 50 mm, and the most relevant one on February 9, reaching between 50 and 60 mm in just 20 minutes. This precipitation caused significant damage, especially in areas like Gualtallary, due to the flooding in usually non-active old alluvial creeks.
Despite the rain, if we consider an area where we have very good information of pluviometers like at the Monasterio, Gualtallary, the accumulated rainfall in the summer season (December-March) was low. We recorded 110 mm, so we can say it was almost identical to the cold 2019 (100 mm), lower than 2021 (300 mm) and 2022 (170 mm), and slightly above the warm 2020 and 2023 (80 mm).
So, in a dry and warm year – we might also call it ‘classic’ – one would expect the harvest to start early. However, that did not happen. In fact, the opposite occurred and the harvest was delayed.
Will the 2024 harvest match the greatness of what happened in 2019, 2016, or 2013 with exceptional wines? It has been an unusual harvest, but we will have very special wines, comparable to those of the best cold vintages. Let us be confident, because I believe it will be the first great warm vintage in decades.
The reasons behind this assertion
For those of us who harvest well-defined plots, cold years space out the harvest dates, while warm years tend to bring all the plots together on close dates.
This year, despite the hot days during pre- and post-veraison, harvest dates were delayed, and the plots had to be harvested between one and two weeks later than usual, with little interval between them, which is a typical manifestation of a cold year rather than a warm one.
Summer was longer than we expected, and autumn did not start on March 21st, at least for the plants in well-irrigated vineyards, which showed a green color far from the stress of a warm year: the plants kept working and forced us to wait a little longer.
The second sap flow evidence of the season (which occurs close to veraison, when new green growth is seen on the plant due to the growth of secondary buds) also extended further, so the plants not only focused their energy on ripening their clusters but also continued to generate vegetative growth.
So, paradoxically, this seemed more like a cold year than a hot one, due to the plants behavior.
If we broaden our observation to other tree species, we could see how autumn appeared with the first cold temperatures in mid-April. Only then, the leaves on trees began to turn yellow and started to fall.
By the time this report is written, the National Institute of Viticulture (INV), has not yet released final harvest figures as there are still wineries receiving grapes.
The wines that have been racked are refined wines, revealing pure aromas, excellent mouthfeel, very good density, and clear potential for growth as they enter the aging process.
A lot of energy, very good terroir expression and distinctive personality of a vintage that makes us feel enthusiastic about are characteristics that can be found in both white and red wines
The wines, from very early on, stand out for their finesse of expression, having very good acidity and good mouthfeel. I believe they will be wines with great aging potential.