Fourteen days, and then it was over

We started on 22 September at Punta Alice and finished on 5 October at Sèrrone. Fourteen days. Last year it took twenty-three; in 2019 it took thirty-one.

The reason is August: thirty-eight days above 35 °C and sixteen millimetres of rain in total. The grapes stopped accumulating sugar and started shedding acidity all at once, parcel after parcel, waiting for nobody. When that happens you cannot stagger the picking: you either bring it in or you lose the freshness.

We ran three night shifts with the tractor lights on, something we had not done since 2017. Fruit came into the cellar at 16 °C instead of 28 — which is why this year’s rosato, despite the vintage, has the tension it has.

The number we are left with: 37,600 bottles against 41,200 last year, down 9%. And for the third time in seven vintages, there will be no Riserva.