2014 Tuscany Vintage

Tuscany's year began with a warm, wet winter and a warm spring that pushed early vine growth, and then the rains continued. "The wet and warm climate generated a very vigorous vegetative growth," said Giovanni Folonari, and controlling fungal disease while keeping the canopy healthy was key to taking advantage of the late-season ripening. Montalcino had a cold, rainy summer; Chianti Classico saw strong temperature shifts, abundant rain and windy days with temperatures below the seasonal average. Rainfall was uneven: Castello di Ama's corner of Chianti Classico had less than the north of the region near Florence, and Bolgheri had more than Montecucco and southern Montalcino. In Chianti Classico the first samples, taken at the end of August, were not fully through veraison and high in acidity. Favourable weather in September and the first half of October, with summer temperatures and cool nights, gave gradual but complete ripening and a mid-October harvest, especially for Sangiovese. In Montalcino, Consorzio chairman Fabrizio Bindocci said picking ran into the last ten days of October, like the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Tuscan crop was about 20 percent smaller than usual on average, while Chianti Classico's quantity was above the average of recent years.

• Winter and spring: a warm, wet winter and a warm spring, with early vine growth
• Summer: cold and rainy in Montalcino; below-average temperatures and abundant rain in Chianti Classico
• Red picking began 4 to 10 September in Maremma and Bolgheri, 15 September in Montalcino, 20 September in Chianti Classico
• Yield: about 20 percent below usual on average in Tuscany; above the recent average in Chianti Classico

In Chianti Classico, many wineries spent extra labour controlling extreme humidity by thinning, drying and disinfecting risk areas in low-lying vineyards, as conditions favoured parasite attacks in some areas. In Montalcino, meticulous selection by producers improved grape quality and earned the harvest three stars from the Consorzio, while Biondi-Santi announced it would not make a Brunello. In Montepulciano, Andrea Natalini, president of the Consorzio del Nobile di Montepulciano, judged that growers who brought in healthy grapes could count on fair but not excellent quality, with good aromas and interesting colour. On the coast, Ornellaia's Leonardo Raspini called 2014 a very difficult harvest in Bolgheri, with less concentrated, fresher wines.

• Chianti Classico: first samples high in acidity; ripening completed in September and the first half of October
• Montalcino: three stars from the Consorzio; Drosophila suzukii attacks made selection important
• Montepulciano: alcohol levels like those of 20 or 30 years ago, per Natalini
• Bolgheri: Axel Heinz of Ornellaia and Masseto credited cooler than average August temperatures for a "fabulous" white harvest

At the Brunello star ceremony, oenologist Paolo Vagaggini said: "The 2014 wines are elegant, not potent but very balanced, unsuitable for very long ageing but ideal for decidedly pleasing consumption." The Chianti Classico Consorzio credits its 2014 wines with "a non-conventional personality," very intense colour from good anthocyanin extraction, and elegant, balanced Sangiovese with high levels of aroma and acidity that it considers suited to ageing. Wine Spectator's verdict for Tuscany: elegant wines for those who did their homework in the vineyards.

• Brunello: elegant, balanced, not built for very long ageing (Vagaggini)
• Chianti Classico: intense colour, high aroma and acidity, suited to ageing (Consorzio)
• Bolgheri: less concentrated, clean varietal aromas, fresher and more enjoyable (Raspini)