2020 was an incredibly hot vintage in the Cote d’Or. Winter was mild followed by an early budburst in the spring. The heat continued through the summer with drought being a challenge, as a result verasion also came early. The end of season storms did alleviate some of the troubles and so the grapes produced were of good quality with wines providing surprising freshness considering the heat.
For Château Moulin Riche, 2017 is known as the year of the frost, luckily vineyards in Saint-Julien were largely unaffected. Winter was slightly warmer than average, and the conditions were balmy until a large drop in temperature in late April. May brought sunshine and warmth, and the summer months remained warm until August. The cooler weather allowed the grapes to maintain their acidity and bright aromatics. Early September saw some rains prior to harvest which gave the vines a boost to complete the final stages of ripening.
Château Le Crock’s 2017 vintage in Saint-Estèphe was miraculous for its avoidance of the frosts that affected the rest of Bordeaux. Following a very dry autumn and winter, mild temperatures in February sparked an early bud-burst that began towards the end of March. The vines were fortunately spared the effects of the late April frosts thanks to their proximity to the Gironde river. Rainfall in June and good weather throughout the summer meant that fruit set was good, and veraison occurred eight to ten days earlier than usual. The harvest was also one of the earliest on record, producing richly coloured, well-balanced wines of great flavour intensity and acidity.
Nine popes average winter and spring rainfall set the vineyard up for a great season. Warm and dry conditions in late spring and early summer encouraged early ripening and harvest began in the first week of February.
Charlie Melton was among the first to recognise the value and tradition of Barossa Valley’s old-vine Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvèdre (Mataro). While others were grubbing up Shiraz to plant more fashionable varieties, Charlie and a small band of Barossa winemakers convinced farmers to keep their historic vineyards. These wines were initially styled on those from the Rhône but are now considered leading examples in their own right.
Bodega Colome and the Calchaquí Valley enjoyed excellent conditions in 2022. The total rainfall was usual, 160 mm, with a very good crop in terms of both quantity and quality. During maturation, the work on the canopy allowed for a good circulation of air in the vineyard, which helped prevent botrytis from developing. At the same time there were many cloudy days which gave the fruit freshness and avoided sunburn.
Altos wine 2022 harvest was shorter than others, but no less intense. The season was marked by strong heatwaves which affected the speed of ripening. Careful work in the vineyard allowed the desired alcohol and acidity levels to be obtained prior to the heatwaves which preserved the distinct characteristics of the fruit. The season also saw heavy rains which threatened to delay harvest. However, the rains stopped at the perfect time to allow for a window of harvest when the fruit was at optimum health. The rain also cooled down the vineyards at the end of ripening which provided the necessary balance to the grapes.
The 2021 vintage was marked by cool temperatures with a significant drop during April. These conditions led to a delay in budburst. As a result, the vegetative development of the vines consequently moved forward by 15-20 days compared to the previous year. In mid-September, some ‘providential’ rainfall was followed by a short summer, where temperature soared to 34-35°C and temperature variations of around 15°C. By harvest, the grapes had attained excellent phenolic ripeness, with crunchy berry flavours and elevated sugar concentrations. The loose (non-compact) bunches are particularly suitable for drying and were a factor that characterised this particular harvest.
2020 was a challenging year, with the pandemic and adverse weather conditions in the region. Fortunately the Allegrini vineyards were spared from the violent weather that hit areas near to them in the province of Verona. There was some rain in summer that slowed the ripening process, however good weather in September favoured maturation. The harvest was extended, which made it possible to choose the best time to pick in every single plot, for every single variety. The 2020 fruit was of excellent quality.
The Allegrini family estate comprises 120 hectares of vineyard in the heart of Valpolicella Classico. Although the family has grown grapes here for several centuries, Giovanni Allegrini was the first to start bottling wines from the family’s vineyards. When he died in 1983, he passed his passion and commitment to quality winemaking onto his three children, Walter, Marilisa and Franco. Together, they worked to build on Giovanni’s quality ethos until Walter’s death in 2003. Franco looked after the vineyards and winemaking, while Marilisa continued to manage sales and marketing. From the 2007 vintage, Franco sacrificed the Valpolicella Classico classification by bottling the Allegrini wines under Stelvin to eliminate cork taint and reduce oxidation problems. Franco sadly passed away in 2022. He was an inspiring figure who led the way in Valpolicella’s quest for quality, forging a path many others have followed. In 2023, Franco’s sons Francesco, Giovanni and Matteo, alongside their cousin Silvia Allegrini (Walter’s daughter), became custodians of their family’s historic estate.
Chances are there wasn't collaboration, communication, and checkpoints, there wasn't a process agreed upon or specified with the granularity required. It's content strategy gone awry right from the start. Forswearing the use of Lorem Ipsum wouldn't have helped, won't help now. It's like saying you're a bad designer, use less bold text, don't use italics in every other paragraph. True enough, but that's not all that it takes to get things back on track.
The villagers are out there with a vengeance to get that Frankenstein
You made all the required mock ups for commissioned layout, got all the approvals, built a tested code base or had them built, you decided on a content management system, got a license for it or adapted:
This is quite a problem to solve, but just doing without greeking text won't fix it. Using test items of real content and data in designs will help, but there's no guarantee that every oddity will be found and corrected. Do you want to be sure? Then a prototype or beta site with real content published from the real CMS is needed—but you’re not going that far until you go through an initial design cycle.
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