The past wine year

The year has come to an end and it’s time to look back, because when it comes to wine, the past year has a lot to offer. In the future, we will just remember the great 2021 wines when we think back. Because good memories are always better!

2021 began much like many of the past years, with a much too dry winter with almost no precipitation. For a long time it was also quite cool and that led to a rather late budding starting on April 21. That was about 10 days later than 2020 and almost 3 weeks after the 2019 date. Lack of water is a problem, of course, but a late budbreak is an advantage. This reduces the risk of our vines being damaged by late frosts and we have one less thing to worry about.

The following May was really cold and wet. This is rather unusual, as in recent years dry 30° C were the norm. For some crops the rain came too late, but for our vines it was a godsend.

June and July were again extremely dry and scorching hot. By the time of flowering, starting on June 10, we had already caught up with the previous year. However with temperatures of up to 36° C, even May’s rains were soon used up. Good thing that vines can manage with very little water.

At the beginning of August, precipitation finally arrived from thunderstorms, and by the middle of the month we were again in a relaxed situation as far as water supply and ripeness were concerned. Warm days and cool nights allowed grapes with pleasantly high sugar contents and tangy acidity to ripen in a short time.

The harvest lasted from mid-September to mid-October, just right for ripe grapes and temperatures that are no longer quite as hot. Since then the first young wines have been bottled, and a first conclusion can be drawn about the vintage.

The 2021 wines impress above all with a great fruitiness, which was favoured by the cool nights before the harvest. This year’s grapes were not only very ripe, but also brought a pleasant acidity that forms the backbone for tangy white and rosé wines as well as it leads to excellent storable reds. These wines will for sure give us pleasure for many years to come.