the definitive 2009 puglia harvest report with 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,a
stripofland26milesacross,hometo
Pugliasbestknowngrowingregion,Manduria.Attacksfromparasitesare
usuallydeflectedinthisareabyastrong,coolwindthatwhipsofftheMediterranean
Seaandacrossthethinpeninsula,butin
2009anuncharacteristicsummerrainhadputthehealthofthevinesinjeopardy.The
rainlastedfromJune20thJuly7thinmostareas,anditcooledthegrapessomuchas
toslowtheirmaturation.Rainsatthevery
beginningofthegrowingseason,backin
April,hadaffectedtheinitialgerminationofthegrapes,andfewerflowershadturned
intofruit.Thesun,whichusuallythreatenstooverripenthegrapes,hadntripened
themenough.
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Theharvestbeganoneweeklaterthanin2008inordertogivethegrapesmore
timetomature.Theharvestthisyearismarchedileopardo,reportedwinemakerFrancescoMocaveroofMocaveroWinery,whichmeansthespotsoftheleopard.It
isalocalsayingthatmeansthattherearesomeareasyieldinginteresting,goodqualitygrapes,andthereareothersthatarenot.
Thegrapesthatthrivedinthe2009growingseasonwerethosethatnaturally
maturethefastest.Primitivo,theregionsmostimportantgrapefromabusinessperspective,isnamedforitsabilitytodevelopearly:primomeansfirstinItalian.
Theregionsundervaluedwhitegrapevarietieswerealsocomingthrough,
particularlytheChardonnayandthenativevarietiesVerdeca,MalvasiaBianca,andFiano.Chardonnay,Fiano,andPrimitivoarehavingsuccessbecauseofgood
phenolicmaturation,whichwasnotaffectedby
theJunerain,saysenologistElioMinoiaofValledellAssoWinery.SommelierAngelaVenturi,
CasteldiSalveswineryguide,reportsthattheSantiMediciBianco(100%Verdeca),isvery
balanced,nottooalcoholic,freshandcrispy.
TenuteRubinoreportssuccesswiththeVermentinogrape,whichisanewlyplanted
varietyontheRubinoestate.Likewise,the
qualityoftheMalvasiaBiancafruitthewhitegrapemostcommonlyplantedbythewineryis
highbecauseofevenmaturation.
Strangely,theveryrainsthatthreatenedtoruin
the2009vintageultimatelyturnedaroundandsavedit...inspots,atleast.Thereservewaters
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thataccumulatedduringtheautumnperiod,winterperiod,andspringperiodhave
allowedthevinestoresistwellinthehottermonthsofJune,July,andAugust,saysenologistAngeloMaciofDuePalme.Thisenhancedthephenolicmaturationthe
maturationoftheacidsinthegrapeskins,whichgiveswinegoodtannins,resultinginpositivequalitiessuchasstructure.Thissuggeststhatsmall,select
productionsofthisyearsPrimitivowineswillbegoodforaging.Almostevery
wineryIspokewithisreportingsmallyieldsofexcellentqualityPrimitivo.
Thefirstsvinature(devattings)ofthePrimitivodiManduraDOCleadusto
anticipateagoodqualityoffuturewineswithsquareacids,reportsRacemiWinery.ThewineryislocatedinManduria,anareawithparticularlyrockysoil,anditlooks
likeitsterroircamethroughintheend.Onthewhole,wecansaythattheyear,whichhadhardlypromisedanythinggood...demonstratedtheabilitytoimprove
inverylittletime,maintainingfaithinthesayingsmallbutgood.Ianticipatethat
manyofPugliasPrimitivowines,especiallythosemadeinManduria,willstartbecomingreallyinterestingin20142015.
Otherwineriesoffercontradictoryresults,withLeonedeCastrisandValledellAssoreportingPrimitivograpesoflessconcentration.AsenologistMarcoMascellani
nicelysummedup,Indefinition:2008winesaremoreconcentratedandaustere;2009winesarelessconcentratedbutsofter.Iexpect
thePrimitivowinesfromthesouthernpartofSalento
tobebetteryoung.
Attheendofharvest,yieldswereway,waydown
overall,withDuePalmereportingareductionof50%fromlastyearsproduction.TenuteRubino,at10%,
reportstheleastreduction.Mostwineriesreportthatyieldsaredownby30%.Thisisbecausetheregions
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mostrepresentativeandwidelyplantedgrape,Negroamaro,isslowtomature,and
itdidnotfarewellin2009.Negroamaroconstitutesatleast70%ofallthegrapevinesinPuglia,anditisusuallythelastgrapeharvested.Thisyear,hordesof
lowqualityNegroamarofruitwereleftclingingtothevines,andasaresult,mostwinemakerswillnotmakereservewinesinthe2009vintage.Besidesreserve
wines,lowyieldsofNegroamaroprimarilyaffectvinosfuso,theregionsunbottled
pumpwine,whichfillsthehomesofthelocals.Finally,NegroamaroistheprimarygrapeusedtomakePugliasroswines,whicharesomeofthebestinItaly.
ThequestionIposedtowinemakerswaswhetherlowyieldswouldresultinhigher
prices.Fornow,itlookslikemostpriceswillstaythesame.Thisisfortunate,consideringthattherewillcertainlybealowerproductionofrossthisyear,whichwouldsuggesthigherprices.Pugliaisalready
recognizedforcreatinginexpensivewines.EnologistMascellaniofLeonedeCastris,awinery
thathasbeenaroundsince1665,isntafraidto
bidehistime.Themostimportantthingisnottobetooanxioustoagethewinenottopushthe
processalongandtotrytocommercializethe
winewhenithasdevelopedfurther,whichwilllikelybeslightlyearlierthanotheryears.
IdliketofocustherestofthereportonPuglias
lesserknowngrapevarieties:Aglianico,
Ottavianello(thegrapebetterknownasCinsault),andSusumaniello.WinemakerGianniCanteleof
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CanteleWineryisoneofseveralPuglianwinemakersexperimentingwithAglianico.
Thegrapeiscapableofproducingexcellentwines,asproveninBasilicataandCampania.SaysCantele:
ThegrapesweusearepartiallysourcedinSalento,butthemainquantity
comesfromnorthernPuglia,intheFoggiaarea.Thereputationofthis
areaisnotverygoodbecauseitproducesmanyaveragewines.However,inthelastyearsafewgrowersarechangingtheirviewsonviticulture,
andapleasantsurprisewillcomefromthatareasoon.
ThemaindifferencebetweennorthernandsouthernPuglia,inregardtogrowing
conditions,isaltitude.Thenorthishigher,resultinginmoistersoils.Mostofitsriversandstreamsareaboveground,whereasthesouthernpartoftheregionisfed
byundergroundriversthathavecarvedintothelimestone,theprimarycomponentoftheareassoil.
Thelasttwograpes,OttavianelloandSusumaniello,
haveanancienthistoryinthePugliaregion,andperhapsthishistoryhelpedthemadapttothisyears
difficultweather.WiththeexceptionofChardonnay,nonnativeandinternationalgrapevarietiessuffered
incomparisontothenativevarieties.Thisyear,manywinesmadewithforeignvarietieswillnotbe
produced,includingCasteldiSalvesIlVolodi
Alessandro(100%Sangiovese).
ThisyearsOttavianelloisreportedbyBotrugnoWinery,oneoftheleadingproducersofthegrape,to
havenormalsizedyieldsofimpressivequality.Thisislikelybecauseitisoneofthefirstgrapestomature.Susumaniello,eventhoughisoneoftheslowest
grapestofinishmaturing,managedtohaveagood
phenolicmaturation.WinemakerLuigiRubinoreportsthattherainsinJuneandJulynaturallyprotectedthegrapesfromtheheat,savingthewineryfromhavingtouse
irrigation.
Iwontendthisreportdefinitively.Thisisonewonderfulcomponentoftechnology:
theabilitytocontinuedialogues.Feelfreetocontactmewithquestionsandcomments.Itisdifficulttofindobjective,firsthandaccountsofthisregionswine
scene,particularlyinEnglish.IampublishingthisreportjustafewdaysbeforethebeginningofVinitaly,thelargestwineeventintheworld,inordertogive
distributors,sommeliers,andwinewritersasamplingoffirsthandaccounts
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ofthe2009growingseasoninPuglia.Iminterestedinhearingyourimpressionsof
Pugliaswines,particularlyhowalloftheseenvironmentalfactorstasteoutofthebottle.
Iwouldliketothankthewinemakers,enologists,andwineryrepresentativeswho
gavemetheirtimeaswellastheinformationthathelpedmetowritethisreport:
WinemakerMassimilianoApollonio,Apollonio
WinemakerGianniCantele,Cantele
SommelierandWineryGuideAngelaVenturi,CasteldiSalveEnologistAngeloMaci,DuePalme
EnologistSergioBotrugno,BotrugnoEnologistMarcoMascellaniandCommercialDirectorSalvatoreRia,LeonedeCastris
WinemakersFrancescoandMarcoMocavero,Mocavero
WinemakerPieroRibezzo,PirroVaroneWinemakerGregoryPerrucci,Racemi
WinemakerLuigiRubino,TenuteRubino
EnologistElioMinoiaandCommercialDirectorEzioDOria,ValledellAsso