the definitive 2009 puglia harvest report with new photos
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TheDefinitive2009PugliaHarvestReportByMattieJohnBamman
Afterinterviewing11wineries,itstime.
InthesweatymonthsofJulyandAugust,ashalfofItalydescendsonPugliaswhitesandbeaches,the
grapesclingtothevinesinastandoffagainstdehydrationand
parasites.ThesunlightinPuglia,the
primarycontributortotheterroiroftheregion,isboththewinemakers
greatestfriendandgreatestenemy.
Willpricesrisebecauseoflowyields,ordropduetolowdemand?
Whichgrapevarietiesthrivedandwilllikelyproducegoodwines,andwhichfailed?Thesearethemostimportant
questionsconcerningthe2009harvest.
ThehumidheatofAugustwasoppressiveasIwalkedamongthetreelikevinesof
Primitivo,thegrapethatsharesitsDNAwithCaliforniasZinfandel.MostofthewinemakersIspokewithwereafraidofattacksbyperonospora,oidium,and
Botrytiscinerea,powderymoldscausedbyhighmoisturelevelsthatdestroy
otherwisepromisinggrapes.InthesouthofPugliayoufindtheSalentoPeninsula,astripof
land26milesacross,hometoPugliasbest
knowngrowingregion,Manduria.Attacksfromparasitesareusuallydeflectedinthisareabya
strong,coolwindthatwhipsofftheMediterraneanSeaandacrossthethin
peninsula,butin2009anuncharacteristic
summerrainhadputthehealthofthevinesinjeopardy.TherainlastedfromJune20thJuly7th
inmostareas,anditcooledthegrapessomuchastoslowtheirmaturation.Rainsatthevery
beginningofthegrowingseason,backinApril,
hadaffectedtheinitialgerminationofthe
grapes,andfewerflowershadturnedintofruit.Thesun,whichusuallythreatenstooverripen
thegrapes,hadntripenedthemenough.Theharvestbeganoneweeklaterthanin2008
inordertogivethegrapesmoretimetomature.
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Theharvestthisyearismarchedileopardo,reportedwinemakerFrancesco
MocaveroofMocaveroWinery,whichmeansthespotsoftheleopard.Itisalocalsayingthatmeansthattherearesomeareasyieldinginteresting,goodquality
grapes,andthereareothersthatarenot.
Thegrapesthatthrivedinthe2009growingseasonwerethosethatnaturally
maturethefastest.Primitivo,theregionsmostimportantgrapefromabusinessperspective,isnamedforitsabilitytodevelopearly:primomeansfirstinItalian.
Theregionsundervaluedwhitegrapevarietieswerealsocomingthrough,
particularlytheChardonnayandthenativevarietiesVerdeca,MalvasiaBianca,andFiano.Chardonnay,Fiano,andPrimitivoarehavingsuccessbecauseofgood
phenolicmaturation,whichwasnot
affectedbytheJunerain,saysenologistElioMinoiaofValledellAssoWinery.
SommelierAngelaVenturi,CasteldiSalveswineryguide,reportsthatthe
SantiMediciBianco(60%Verdeca40%
MalvasiaBianca),isverybalanced,nottooalcoholic,freshandcrispy.Tenute
RubinoreportssuccesswiththeVermentinogrape,whichisanewly
plantedvarietyontheRubinoestate.
Likewise,thequalityoftheMalvasia
Biancafruitthewhitegrapemostcommonlyplantedbythewineryishigh
becauseofevenmaturation.
Strangely,theveryrainsthatthreatenedtoruinthe2009vintageultimatelyturned
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aroundandsavedit...inspots,atleast.Thereservewatersthataccumulated
duringtheautumnperiod,winterperiod,andspringperiodhaveallowedthevinestoresistwellinthehottermonthsofJune,July,andAugust,saysenologistAngelo
MaciofDuePalme.Thisenhancedthephenolicmaturationthematurationoftheacidsinthegrapeskins,whichgiveswinegoodtannins,resultinginpositive
qualitiessuchasstructure.Thissuggeststhatsmall,selectproductionsofthisyears
Primitivowineswillbegoodforaging.AlmosteverywineryIspokewithisreportingsmallyieldsofexcellentqualityPrimitivo.
Thefirstsvinature(devattings)ofthePrimitivodiManduraDOCleadustoanticipateagoodqualityoffuturewineswithsquareacids,reportsRacemiWinery.
ThewineryislocatedinManduria,anareawithparticularlyrockysoil,anditlookslikeitsterroircamethroughintheend.Onthewhole,wecansaythattheyear,
whichhadhardlypromisedanythinggood...demonstratedtheabilitytoimprove
inverylittletime,maintainingfaithinthesayingsmallbutgood.IanticipatethatmanyofPugliasPrimitivowines,especiallythosemadeinManduria,willstart
becomingreallyinterestingin20142015.
Otherwineriesoffercontradictoryresults,withLeonedeCastrisandValledellAsso
reportingPrimitivograpesoflessconcentration.AsenologistMarcoMascellaninicelysummedup,Indefinition:2008winesaremoreconcentratedandaustere;
2009winesarelessconcentratedbutsofter.I
expectthePrimitivowinesfromthesouthernpartofSalentotobebetteryoung.
Attheendofharvest,yieldswereway,waydown
overall,withDuePalmereportingareductionof
50%fromlastyearsproduction.TenuteRubino,at10%,reportstheleastreduction.Mostwineries
reportthatyieldsaredownby30%.Thisis
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becausetheregionsmostrepresentativeandwidelyplantedgrape,Negroamaro,is
slowtomature,anditdidnotfarewellin2009.Negroamaroconstitutesatleast70%ofallthegrapevinesinPuglia,anditisusuallythelastgrapeharvested.This
year,hordesoflowqualityNegroamarofruitwereleftclingingtothevines,andasaresult,mostwinemakerswillnotmakereservewinesinthe2009vintage.Besides
reservewines,lowyieldsofNegroamaroprimarilyaffectvinosfuso,theregionsun
bottledpumpwine,whichfillsthehomesofthelocals.Finally,NegroamaroistheprimarygrapeusedtomakePugliasroswines,whicharesomeofthebestinItaly.
ThequestionIposedtowinemakerswaswhetherlowyieldswouldresultinhigherprices.Fornow,itlookslikemostpriceswillstaythesame.Thisisfortunate,
consideringthattherewillcertainlybealowerproductionofrossthisyear,whichwouldsuggesthigherprices.Pugliaisalreadyrecognizedforcreatinginexpensivewines.EnologistMascellaniofLeonedeCastris,
awinerythathasbeenaroundsince1665,isntafraidtobidehistime.Themostimportant
thingisnottobetooanxioustoagethe
winenottopushtheprocessalongandtotrytocommercializethewinewhenithas
developedfurther,whichwilllikelybeslightly
earlierthanotheryears.
IdliketofocustherestofthereportonPugliaslesserknowngrapevarieties:
Aglianico,Ottavianello(thegrapebetterknown
asCinsault),andSusumaniello.WinemakerGianniCanteleofCanteleWineryisoneof
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severalPuglianwinemakersexperimentingwithAglianico.Thegrapeiscapableof
producingexcellentwines,asproveninBasilicataandCampania.SaysCantele:ThegrapesweusearepartiallysourcedinSalento,butthemainquantity
comesfromnorthernPuglia,intheFoggiaarea.Thereputationofthis
areaisnotverygoodbecauseitproducesmanyaveragewines.However,
inthelastyearsafewgrowersarechangingtheirviewsonviticulture,andapleasantsurprisewillcomefromthatareasoon.
ThemaindifferencebetweennorthernandsouthernPuglia,inregardtogrowing
conditions,isaltitude.Thenorthishigher,resultinginmoistersoils.Mostofits
riversandstreamsareaboveground,whereasthesouthernpartoftheregionisfedbyundergroundriversthathavecarvedintothelimestone,theprimarycomponent
oftheareassoil.
Thelasttwograpes,OttavianelloandSusumaniello,
haveanancienthistoryinthePugliaregion,and
perhapsthishistoryhelpedthemadapttothisyearsdifficultweather.WiththeexceptionofChardonnay,
nonnativeandinternationalgrapevarietiessufferedincomparisontothenativevarieties.This
year,manywinesmadewithforeignvarietieswillnotbeproduced,includingCasteldiSalvesIlVolo
diAlessandro(100%Sangiovese).
ThisyearsOttavianelloisreportedbyBotrugno
Winery,oneoftheleadingproducersofthegrape,tohavenormalsizedyieldsofimpressivequality.This
islikelybecauseitisoneofthefirstgrapestomature.Susumaniello,eventhoughisoneoftheslowestgrapestofinishmaturing,managedtohave
agoodphenolicmaturation.WinemakerLuigi
RubinoreportsthattherainsinJuneandJulynaturallyprotectedthegrapesfromtheheat,savingthewineryfromhavingtouseirrigation.
Iwontendthisreportdefinitively.Thisisonewonderfulcomponentoftechnology:
theabilitytocontinuedialogues.Feelfreetocontactmewithquestionsand
comments.Itisdifficulttofindobjective,firsthandaccountsofthisregionswinescene,particularlyinEnglish.I
ampublishingthisreportjustafewdaysbeforethebeginningofVinitaly,thelargestwineeventin
theworld,inordertogivedistributors,sommeliers,and
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winewritersasamplingoffirsthandaccountsofthe2009growingseasoninPuglia.
IminterestedinhearingyourimpressionsofPugliaswines,particularlyhowalloftheseenvironmentalfactorstasteoutofthebottle.
Iwouldliketothankthewinemakers,enologists,andwineryrepresentativeswho
gavemetheirtimeaswellastheinformationthathelpedmetowritethisreport:
WinemakerMassimilianoApollonio,Apollonio
WinemakerGianniCantele,Cantele
SommelierandWineryGuideAngelaVenturi,CasteldiSalveEnologistAngeloMaci,DuePalme
EnologistSergioBotrugno,BotrugnoEnologistMarcoMascellaniandCommercialDirectorSalvatoreRia,LeonedeCastris
WinemakersFrancescoandMarcoMocavero,Mocavero
WinemakerPieroRibezzo,PirroVaroneWinemakerGregoryPerrucci,Racemi
WinemakerLuigiRubino,TenuteRubino
EnologistElioMinoiaandCommercialDirectorEzioDOria,ValledellAsso