The last tank is now fully fermented and we would like to tell you about the 2020 vintage with great enthusiasm.
The abundant rainfall last winter and spring (900 liters/m2) was a blessing for the vines and our groundwater. And even our reservoir is filled to the brim again after years of drought and is beautiful to look at.
Thanks to the good water supply, the vineyard vegetation was lush and pure all summer long, with a deep green right through to harvest. A real feast for the eyes!
The downside of the wet preseason was the mildew infestation in spring, which we did not know to this extent in our part of the world. A problem that we had depending on the grape variety, and especially at the bottom of our valleys, and in our organically farmed plots. For us, this meant, with good hope, timing the perfect intervals for the grape treatments.
We reached the limits of what is possible. And the early fungal attack led to a reduced harvest of ultimately 20% in comparison with the previous year.
What was not affected, however, was just how sensational the crop turned out to be, thanks to a picture book summer!
From other hot and dry summers we know that the drought in midsummer can lead to leaf shedding. Photosynthesis performance is impaired and the vine is exposed to heat stress.
This causes the grapes to partially dry and concentrate the berries when they are unripe.
But none of that came even close this year!
From May until the harvest, maturity of our grapes was a perfect crescendo!
The following are perfect throughout the series: sugar-acid balance, malic / tartaric acid content, depth of colour, extract values, tannin ripeness and the grapes’ health
It was a great pleasure to process these grapes in the cellar without stress. The alcoholic fermentation took place mostly in one go, without any problems. All well fermented. The malolactic fermentation is still in full swing. The volatile acid values are very low. With great color yield.
Special thanks from Anna, our chief winemaker, praising our viticultors for their attention to detail and cooperation, and their grapes selection efforts!
The 2020 young wines are already accessible and, at this point of the year, unusually clear, defined and pure. The colour is deep. The tannins on the reds are serious and fine-grained.
So the winemaking team in the cellar is very happy with the 2020 qualities. On the other hand, our farmers suffered significant yield losses.
With the following video clip we would like to invite you to take part in this harvest.
Have fun and feel free to share on Instagram and Facebook!
Salut!
The Capçanes team