2018 Tuscany Vintage

In Montalcino, winter brought average rainfall and a few snow episodes, and temperatures stayed above the seasonal average until the end of February, when a sharp drop brought snow across the territory and minimums close to -10C. Bud break came in April. In May, frequent and abundant rain with high temperatures allowed optimal vegetative development; flowering began at the end of the month and fruit set was complete by the middle of June. Soil moisture helped the vines cope with the high temperatures of June and July. Veraison was slightly delayed, starting in the second half of July. August brought weak, intermittent rain in its first three weeks and average temperatures of 25C, then a significant drop in its last days, with lows occasionally below 12C. After a few rainy days in early September, showers and temperatures around 20C from the second half of the month prompted wineries to bring forward the start of the Sangiovese harvest to keep the fruit healthy. Montalcino's difficulties came mainly from heavy rain in spring and early summer, and Consorzio director Giacomo Pondini put the weather down as something winemakers had not seen since the nineties. At Tenute Silvio Nardi, harvest ran from mid-September to mid-October. In Chianti Classico, budbreak came early after an above-average March and April, May was fairly rainy, and from 10 June temperatures rose into a good summer with little rain and temperatures within the norm. Veraison began in late July and moved slowly through August; sunny September days with wide day-night temperature swings brought the expected phenolic and aromatic ripeness, and black grapes were picked from mid-September to mid-October. At Fontodi in Panzano, harvest was well underway on 24 September after 22 days without rain; temperatures there had not risen above 36C, and nights had been cool. Crop size varied: the Chianti Classico DOCG was set to produce around 270,000 hectolitres, a return to normal levels after a less abundant 2017, and Bolgheri yields were normal, while Tenuta San Guido's quantity was 15 percent below average.

• Montalcino: abundant May rain, flowering from late May, fruit set complete by mid-June
• Chianti Classico: early budbreak, a fairly rainy May, then a good summer with little rain
• A July hailstorm wiped out 25 percent of the crop in some vineyards at Argiano
• Harvest: mid-September to mid-October in Chianti Classico and at Tenute Silvio Nardi in Montalcino

Each denomination had its own story. Chianti Classico's growing season was very regular, with no extreme weather events and normal picking times, and healthy grapes, ripe yet fresh, led Giovanni Manetti to expect a vintage of "harmony." At Castello di Fonterutoli, 15km further south, humid mornings were a challenge; with a third of the estate's crop picked by 24 September, Giovanni Mazzei called the following fortnight a race against rot. In Montalcino, Gianfranco Soldera found the summer "almost tropical," with "too much humidity in the air," and a team at Case Basse removed bunches non-stop from June. Elisabetta Gnudi's team at Caparzo and Altesino used clay dust on the vines to absorb humidity. By the week of 24 September, half of the appellation's Sangiovese had been harvested. In Bolgheri, mildew and humidity were a challenge, but sunny, mostly dry September weather with cool nights brought healthy fruit to full ripeness at Ornellaia and Masseto, where Axel Heinz is estate director. In the Maremma, conditions were relatively normal, and Fattoria Le Pupille owner Elisabetta Geppetti called it a good year; consultant oenologist Luca d'Attoma held that Cabernet Sauvignon thrived across southern Tuscany, while Sangiovese ripened less evenly.

• Chianti Classico: a very regular season with normal picking times
• Montalcino: mildew, oidium and mould at Case Basse
• Bolgheri: normal yields, and fermenting wines Axel Heinz called silky and fragrant
• Maremma: relatively normal conditions, and a good year for Elisabetta Geppetti of Fattoria Le Pupille

The Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino gave 2018 four stars and headed its vintage report "a classic and elegant vintage." Around 40 experts tasted 44 samples representing the entire area at the Consorzio on 24 January 2019, and oenologist Paolo Vagaggini judged 2018 not one of the vintages considered exceptional but "a good, average level vintage." Just after harvest, Chianti Classico's Consorzio expected 2018 to be a 4/5 vintage, while Manetti, newly elected president of the Consorzio, predicted a five-star vintage.

• Brunello di Montalcino: four stars (Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino)
• Chianti Classico: "should be a 4/5 vintage" (Consorzio, just after harvest)
• Chianti Classico: a five-star vintage in Giovanni Manetti's view (Decanter, 1 October 2018)

Montalcino's Sangiovese came in with good phytosanitary condition and medium-high average berry weight, and the Brunello Consorzio found wines of "greater elegance and finesse, with not too important structures but well-balanced tannins, well-present primary aromas and clear perfumes." Chairman Fabrizio Bindocci called 2018 "once again a classic vintage," with mild temperatures and slightly longer maturations without heat peaks, and wines with "acidity, elegance, well-constructed and persistent tannins, with a very fresh base fruit." Producers reached for different comparisons: Heinz predicted "a more delicate vintage, like 2013" in Bolgheri, Argiano's Riccardo Bogi also pointed to the elegant 2013s, and Mazzei thought the vintage might fall between the opulent 2015s and the structured 2016s. Tenuta San Guido's musts were much less alcoholic than in 2017, with beautiful fruit, and reminded Carlo Paoli of 2008 or 2006.

• Brunello: elegance, finesse and well-balanced tannins (Brunello Consorzio)
• Bolgheri: "a more delicate vintage, like 2013," in Axel Heinz's prediction
• Chianti Classico: ripe yet fresh grapes and, for Giovanni Manetti, a vintage of "harmony"