Vintage Reports

Costanti

The 2026 harvest in Montalcino was outstanding in terms of quality, producing Brunellos with great character and excellent aging potential.

The 2026 harvest was one of the earliest in history in most of Italy, but here at Colle al Matrichese, we were able to begin harvesting our Sangiovese grapes on 14 September 2026. So it was an early harvest, comparable to the vintages of 2003, 2007, 2012, 2017 and 2022. But 2026 was warm but not drought-stricken, thanks to abundant rainfall in late spring and early summer, which replenished the vines’ water reserves.

The freshness and altitude of our area helped prevent severe stress, and the grapes were in excellent health, with outstanding tannin concentration, alcohol levels ranging from 13.5% to 14.3%, and excellent acidity.

Alcoholic fermentation proceeded extremely smoothly. The wines have just completed malolactic fermentation and will soon begin their aging process in oak barrels.

Arillo in Terrabianca

The 2026 growing season began with a cold, rainy winter and a mild, wet spring, followed by significantly above-average temperatures from mid-June. Local microclimates in Radda in Chianti and Massa Marittima helped mitigate the effects of the heat.

High temperatures accelerated grape ripening, bringing the harvest forward by around ten days. In Maremma, harvesting began on August 17 and concluded on October 6. Rainfall in late August and early September helped rebalance ripening.

Despite the challenging conditions, careful vineyard management and favorable local climates helped preserve grape quality, pointing towards an excellent 2026 vintage.

Tenuta Casenuove

2026 was an exceptionally hot vintage, the hottest ever recorded. However, unlike other recent hot vintages (2017, 2021 and 2022), we did see some rainfall, which helped with balance.

September proved decisive, with abundant rainfall restoring balance to the grapes’ key parameters at the very end of the growing season, helping ensure excellent ripening. It also marked a turning point, bringing September temperatures back in line with historical averages for the month.

The wines already developing in the cellar are expressing the character we had hoped for, particularly the native varieties such as Sangiovese!

Pievalta

The 2026 vintage was very hot. While the winter months saw good rainfall, above-average temperatures caused both budbreak and flowering to occur seven days earlier than usual. Spring brought frequent—though not heavy—rainfall, along with some pressure from fungal diseases fostered by the unseasonably warm temperatures; however, we managed to keep these in check through precise, timely interventions and limited copper use. The summer months were extremely hot and dry, with soaring temperatures—particularly in July and August—consistently exceeding 30°C and featuring prolonged heatwaves that pushed temperatures above 35°C. We managed the soil and canopy to ensure the grape clusters remained shaded and to lower soil temperatures. Harvest began on August 10th with the grapes destined for sparkling wine bases from the Maiolati Spontini vineyard and continued without interruption until September 7th, concluding with the final grapes from the Montecarotto vineyard. This meant that the harvest for sparkling wine bases aligned with previous years, whereas the harvest for the San Paolo and Cupramontana sites took place a week earlier than usual. Conditions during the harvest were scorching; picking began at first light and often finished by mid-morning. We improved our harvesting logistics to speed up the transport of grapes to the winery while maintaining our rigorous attention to the pressing stage and must management. Fermentation proceeded excellently, and we are very pleased with the resulting wines, which show ideal alcohol levels, excellent acidity, good pH balance, and clean, expressive aromatics. The foundations for producing wines capable of aging well are there, but with this “new” climate, we no longer have established reference points, and we try to learn something from every vintage—now more than ever.

Jankara Wines

The vintage was an unusual one. We had a lot of rain in winter and very hot weather in summer. We started harvesting the Vermentino on 31 August, around two weeks earlier than usual. Bt honestly, they were the most beautiful grapes I’ve seen in years. The three summer rainfalls we had this year helped the Vermentino enormously. The quality of the red varieties is excellent, but production is lower than usual.

Cantina Santadi

The recently completed 2026 harvest yielded a smaller crop than in 2025, with an overall decrease of approximately 5% across all white and red grape varieties. In 2026, rainfall was slightly higher than in 2025, reaching approximately 550–600mm, with most in the winter months. This encouraged vigorous growth, resulting in optimal canopy development by June. The healthy, abundant vegetation enabled the vines to withstand the dry summer without difficulty, allowing the grapes to reach perfect ripeness.

The vintage promises fresh, vibrant white wines and red wines of great structure and elegance.