TUSCANY VINTAGE GUIDE

Click on each vintage to see what we currently have in stock on our main website:

  • 2020 - Chianti: Frost early in the year followed by a very wet May and a blistering summer led to a slight decrease in yield. Nonetheless, across the region wines are showing great depth, pure fruit, and ripe tannins. 

  • 2019 - Chianti: Both quality and quantity are high thanks to a growing season of steady temperatures and humidity. Many producers harvested as late as mid-October, allowing the late-ripening Sangiovese to develop phenomenal flavor and depth.

    Bolgheri: Ample rain during a cool spring was followed by precipitation in July and August leading to ideal weather conditions for harvest. The vintage is particularly floral, with good tannins, and promises great aging potential. 

    Brunello: Early budding was followed by a warm summer with sporadic heat spikes followed by rain. Despite some nerve-wrecking weather, little damage was done, and the vintage yielded both quality and quantity. 

  • 2018 - Chianti: Rain early in the growing season, and then again in late summer threatened disease, but a dry and breezy September dried the grapes and intensified flavors rewarding winemakers with powerful yet elegant results.

    Bolgheri: Rain in the spring and temperate summer were followed by a cool August creating an extended ripening season. Wines are fruity and fresh and likely to be approachable early.

    Brunello: Following a decade marked by spikes of extreme heat, the season was markedly cooler, what many producers called a classically styled vintage. Top wines show dark, rich fruit, balanced acidity and refined, while some are light-bodied and lack the depth of top vintages. It is a challenging vintage with variability, and one to taste and experience to find favorites.

  • 2017 - Chianti & Bolgheri: While it is important to make distinctions between central and coastal Tuscany, these two regions enjoyed the same warm, dry summer that has crafted deep, charming wines that will find many fans.  While both might struggle to keep up with the monumental 2015s and 2016s that proceeded it, folks looking for rewarding, early-drinking wines will find a lot to love here.

    Brunello: Continued drought and a summer of extreme heat made ripening a challenge and led to an approximate 20% decrease in production. However, surprising freshness and acidity was preserved throughout the region, along with dry tannins peeking through. Not the best vintage for long-term aging, but the wines are approachable and charming, and the best have a lot to offer.

    2016- The region as a whole had an excellent vintage. It was slightly cooler than 2015, providing grapes that had slightly more acidity, giving wines a balanced profile.

    Chianti: Though quality was high across Tuscany, this just might be the year where Chianti Classico edges out the other regions in terms of quality. Producers who have been focused on improving the quality of Chianti overall have seen their efforts pay off in this vintage.

    Bolgheri: Similar to the 2006 and 2008 vintages. Cooling temperatures in August and September forced a slightly earlier-than-normal harvest, but quality is still good across the board with yields down about 15-20%.  

    Brunello: Many consider this one of the greatest age-worthy vintages the region has seen. They are concentrated, precise, terroir-driven, and undeniably delicious examples that will be reference-point wines for many estates.

  • 2015 - Chianti: A consistent and warm growing season produced some great wines in central Tuscany, with a focus on a terrific quality in entry level wines from Chianti and neighboring regions. These are wines that can be enjoyed early, remain accessible, and produced in quantities that will make them easy to find and hard to resist.

    Bolgheri: A terrific vintage for coastal Tuscany and a reference-point for some of the region’s top producers.  The stuffing is there  for the long haul, but the class and pedigree is very transparent in 2015.

    Brunello: This highly anticipated vintage is full of rich, heady wines that will find fans with anybody who loves the best that Sangiovese has to offer.  One of the biggest charms is the across-the-board quality, the result of a relatively stress-free growing season that was warm, but never too extreme.  The best examples are thrilling, and although it might lack the structure of more classic vintages, it more than makes up for with broad appeal, depth, and character.

  • 2014 - A cool, damp growing season challenged growers throughout Tuscany. The good news is that the late season yielded some ideal conditions and many producers ended up making some very solid wines in the end. The other positive is that there will continue to be great values on the market for a long time to come with plenty of opportunities for savvy buyers to connect with their favorite producers.

 

  • 2013 - Chianti: A brilliant vintage and one that has evolved beautifully from initial release. At the best, they represent some of the greatest-ever efforts from Chianti and the surrounding areas, while the top-to-bottom quality is reliable and easily rewards the pricetag.

    Bolgheri: A cool, composed vintage that produced wines of elegance that will age beautifully. Although it lacked some of the heat traditionally akin to the area, the long, steady growing season allowed for the fruit to develop beautifully at an easy pace.

    Brunello: This is a vintage that many have in the conversation of some of Brunello’s great years, especially those who have more traditional-leaning palates. It is also a remarkably consistent vintage with a ton of great wines that buyers are bound to enjoy early  and often.

 

  • 2012 - Brunello: An exciting vintage that has many critics reaching for comparisons to great vintages like 2010, 2007, or 2004. They might be in the shadow of the other-worldly 10’s due to the hype of that campaign, but quality-wise they are exciting from top to bottom and will go toe-to-toe in due time

    Chianti: Perhaps the underdog in 2012 Tuscany, those who navigated early heat and late rains came through with some charming, ripe, and racy styles that show the early accessibility of well-made Sangiovese

    Bolgheri:  Another warm vintage, perhaps not to the degree of its partner in 2011. The wines are exuberant and expressive at a young age with dramatic flavors and an easygoing nature. 

 

  • 2011 - Brunello: Often overlooked next to the great 2010 and 2012, the 11’s are charming and early-drinking examples of Sangiovese Grosso that will find many admirers in those looking to wait for other more compact and demanding vintages.

    Chianti: A warm, riper style resulted in accessible, racy Sangiovese that highlights the exuberance of the varietal.  Good quality across the spectrum and a great starting place for those new to the region

    Bolgheri:  Rich, concentrated, and the best of the wines handle this character beautifully. Warm, dry conditions throughout the year highlighted the more exuberant side of the best of the international Tuscan style.

 

  • 2010 - Brunello: Considered the greatest modern vintage in Brunello and the standard against which future and past vintages will be measured for a time to come. The perfect combination of concentration, structure, depth, and ageability. There’s also a terrific level of quality from top to bottom.

    Chianti: Similar to Brunello, 2010 Chianti is qualitatively off the chart, reminiscent of the tremendous 2004s but with a bit more volume and depth.  

    Bolgheri:  Similar to their brethren in Bordeaux, 2010 is the more structured of the tremendous 2009/2010 duo that saw some of the great releases in the region to date. Both are big winners, but the final say will probably depend on a personal preference.

 

  • 2009 - Brunello: A tough task up against the greats like 2006, 2007, and 2010 around it, the 2009s never fully recovered from an early hot spot that Chianti and especially Bolgheri were more apt to navigate. There are definitely some bright spots, but this is a vintage to be selective in.

    Chianti: A hot year but without the relief that coastal Tuscany saw, the wines don’t lack for concentration or richness in 2009. It bodes well for these wines in their youth, and the wines with the structure and acidity will age well.  

    Bolgheri: Similar to their brethren in Bordeaux, 2009 is the more ripe and vibrant of the tremendous 2009/2010 duo that saw some of the great releases in the region to date. Both are big winners, but the final say will probably depend on a personal preference.

 

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