Tenute Rubino > Press Area > Announced > Tenute Rubino's 2011 harvest

Tenute Rubino's 2011 harvest.

A high-quality vintage, but the yelds are lower. As the white grape harvest come to an end, the traditional reds are already generating great expectations.

As the last white grapes enter the vinification cellars, the first data seems to confirm that 2011 will be a particularly good vintage: the volumes are lower, but the quality is outstanding. Indeed, if the rest of September is blessed with the appropriate weather, this might be a vintage to be remembered – both at Tenute Rubino and in the rest of Salento.  

The phenological phase – the opening of the buds, which marks the beginning of the viticultural campaign – began with some delay compared with the last few years, but did not depart significantly from the 10-years average. This was the case in all of Tenute Rubino’s estates, from the Adriatic ridge to Brindisi’s hinterland (Jaddico, Marmorelle, Uggìo and Punta Aquila).

Due to the mixed weather which characterized the spring, working in the fields was quite toilsome; on the other hand, the terrain stored enough water to get safely through summer. The results were clearly visible on the vines, which were quite vigorous and produced smaller bunches; the maturation phase, which lasted longer than usual for some varieties, was balanced.

The vineyards displayed an extraordinary vegetative vigour throughout the season, to the point where repeated pruning, sucker removal and interventions on the canopy were necessary. All of these operations were carried out – as tradition dictates – by Tenute Rubino’s women, whom are all highly trained and specialized. The weather trend, whilst initially prefiguring a very early harvest, eventually allowed for a regular one. The flowering phase, on the other hand, generated a lower amount of grapes in the bunches; the high temperatures during the second half of August further decreased the yield per hectare. According to the current estimates, the volumes should be 25-30% lower than 2010.

The Jaddico and Marmorelle estates, which lie across the Adriatic ridge, have felt the constant influence of the brackish winds which originate in Salento’s stunning coastlands. The wide temperature variations between night and day, as well as the tendentially sandy terrains, have produced exceptional sapidity and minerality in the grapes. The extraordinary weather was also beneficial to the Uggìo and Punta Aquila estates, which lie in Apulia’s hinterland, southwest of Brindisi; here, the temperature excursions have given the wines a great aromatic persistence.

The white varieties – Vermentino, Malvasia Bianca and Chardonnay – were the first to be harvested, beginning in the second half of August. The red varieties are more colourful and mature than last year, and will thus be harvested earlier than usual – starting with Primitivo and Malvasia Nera, and ending with Negroamaro and Susumaniello (this last variety, in particular, has a slower maturation process). Indeed, if September is blessed with sunny but cool days, and especially with substantial temperature drops at night, this year’s red wines will be well structured, well balanced, and with extraordinary organoleptic traits. Now that the white grape harvest has been completed, the quality of the grapes – and thus of the oenological results – can be confirmed. The red 2011 vintage is also raising great expectations: the favourable climate – the temperatures were never excessive – and the natural decrease in the number of grape bunches per plant has allowed the anthocyanins to mature well, thus providing Apulia’s indigenous reds with a rich and balanced sensory profile.

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