Vintage 2021
CLIMATOLOGY, GROWING SEASON AND PHENOLOGY
The end of the last growing season closed with slightly warmer temperatures than usual for the area, with significant frosts not arriving until almost the month of December.
Temperatures this year have varied with respect to historical records, going from a November with higher temperatures, to a December similar to historical data, and a January between 1 and 3ºC below the average. In February the trend changed and until mid-June, temperatures were up to 3ºC higher than expected; however, from the beginning of the summer the trend changed again, with temperatures during the months of July, August and September remaining practically the same as the historical data.
The temperatures obtained, together with the rainfall recorded during the spring, mainly in April, allowed the vines to bud well. Subsequently, the cycle slowed down slightly due to the slightly lower temperatures and low rainfall, which was practically non-existent from the beginning of the summer until September, causing the grapes to veraison 3 days later than the historical average. In September, up to 40 l/m2 were recorded, which helped the grapes to ripen fully.
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CLIMATIC ACCIDENTS
There were no significant winter frosts until December, but January was particularly cold, with minimum temperatures in the middle of the month reaching -18ºC in Pesquera de Duero. These freezing temperatures arrived during the famous Filomena squall. Initially, the damage caused by these temperatures was not noticeable; however, during bud break, the consequences of these extreme frosts could be observed, and the damage caused in some plots both to the buds themselves and to old wood, with the loss of pruning posts and even the loss of the arms of some plants in the most extreme cases.
Practically no spring frosts were recorded, and those that did occur, the vineyard was at an early phenological stage, so they hardly caused any damage.
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MATURATION
As usually happens in our area, the month of September and the first days of October are decisive for ripening.
We started the harvest on the 28th September with the most phenologically advanced plots of the Tempranillo variety and finish with the Cabernet Sauvignon on the 21st October.
Finally, we have obtained a 25% reduction of grapes in our vineyard, due to the hail episode of 11 June.
Looking at the vintage in general terms, we can conclude that the grapes have ripened a few days later than the average ripening dates of the last few seasons. It can be considered that we are at similar dates to the 2019 campaign.
The analytical data of the 2021 vintage are similar to high quality campaigns such as 2019, although we must wait and observe the evolution of the wines once the fermentations are finished.
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