Louis Latour Agencies

Vintage Report from Viu Manent

01 August 2017

We have received a vintage report from Patricio Celedón, Head Winemaker at Viu Manent. Here’s what he had to say on the latest news from the harvest.

 

The 2016–2017 season began with relatively normal temperatures and precipitation in the winter, with rainfall concentrated in the month of July. August and September were dry with higher temperatures, which resulted in budbreak taking place very evenly and 10–15 days earlier than normal.

The high temperatures continued throughout spring and early summer, which presented ideal conditions for flowering, fruit set, and veraison, all of which were very even and short in all of our vineyards in the Colchagua Valley.

Summer was marked by a number of heat waves with maximum temperatures that reached nearly 40ºC. This caused the plants to stop working, which was good in that it prevented the loss of acidity that the high temperatures would otherwise cause.

I would say that this year’s harvest had two major moments. The first was the fresh-fruit phase at the end of February, primarily for the varieties that ripen earlier. The second was the ripe-fruit phase in late April, when the later-ripening varieties were harvested.

Yields were approximately 13% lower this year, and this is primarily explained by two factors. The first is the result of poor floral induction in the previous season due to a cold, damp spring that resulted in a decrease in the number of berries produced per bunch this year.

The second was a decrease in the weight of the bunches and berries, primarily due to a bit of dehydration that was not visually perceptible. The upside of this is that the berries were smaller and more concentrated, which in turn resulted in very fresh and lively wines with good structure and smooth, round, velvety tannins, especially in the grapes that were harvested earlier in the season.