BLOG
Harvest Report
After finishing the harvest of the 2023-2024 season, it’s time to reflect and draw conclusions. Despite ongoing fermentation for some wines, we have a good overview of the season.
The Curicó Valley generally enjoys favorable climatic conditions. Although the spring of 2023 was chilly, causing minimal frost damage in mountainous regions, it did not impact our productivity, and white varieties met our yield expectations.
This seasonal trend led to delays in plant growth stages like budding, flowering, and fruit formation. Towards the end of spring, in November and December, temperatures rose to around 30°C on average, marking the onset of summer.
Typically, our harvest begins between February 24 and 28. However, this year, Sauvignon Blanc still had 11° alcohol content by those dates, causing a delay of 10 to 12 days compared to a usual year.
The harvest commenced gradually with Sauvignon Blanc, followed by Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. These varieties displayed good but slow ripening, resulting in well-preserved acidity and fresh aromas.
In the central sector of the Curicó Valley (Sagrada Familia), red varieties yielded slightly above average. Despite this, we maintained optimal sugar and acidity levels due to a slow maturation process, ensuring ripe tannins at harvest. Two rain events occurred but did not disrupt the harvest significantly, with the latter rainfall of 15 to 18 mm prompting us to expedite the Carmenére harvest.
Currently, 80% of our winery’s fermentation is complete, with remaining batches of Carmenére and Cabernet Sauvignon undergoing slow fermentation due to the cold nights. By the end of May, we aim to evaluate these final tanks.
In conclusion, we are pleased with the acidity, color, aromas, and tannin quality of the wines. The slow, late harvest, anticipated since spring, has resulted in promising Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Rosé wines. The reds await the completion of alcoholic and malolactic fermentations, showing intense characteristics and readiness for barrel aging.