San Polo Montalcino - Diario della Vendemmia 2017

DIARIO DELLA VENDEMMIA 2017 HARVEST DIARY 34 35 Today we start with the Sangiovese, and we have to be careful and meticulous! It is the King of Montalcino and the entire Tuscan wine growing region. Fortunately, the San Polo vineyards are composed of a single unit, so we can more easily decide which plots to concentrate on for the first selection. The harvest takes place in small containers that are transported to the winery in just a few minutes as soon as they are full, and at a temperature that never exceeds 10-13°C. The harvest is undertaken in various rounds, as we pass through each vine row at least three times. Riccardo is very firm and insistent when he tells us that we have to be very careful in selecting the clusters. This seems an obvious instruction but not doing so could compromise the final result. We look for different characteristics based on the wine we are aiming to produce: for Rosso di Montalcino we want fresher grapes, not the concentration we need for Brunello, which requires clusters with smaller berries. To produce the Riserva, which has to age for a year longer compared to Brunello, we select only the best grapes, choosing the sparse clusters with small, healthy berries. Fermentation of the Riserva occurs in truncated conical tanks made of wood , even if we postpone the final decision on whether the wine really deserves to be made for three years.