This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
News
Santa Rita poised for ‘record-breaking’ 2021 harvest
Chile’s Santa Rita is poised for a “record-breaking” 2021 harvest at some of its properties in terms of yields, with the quality particularly high for its whites.
“We recorded an early spring that was a little bit warmer than average. The cool summer and autumn led to a slow ripening process that allowed us to harvest grapes at their optimal ripeness.
“We are expecting to get record production in some properties, including Itahue, Molina, Pumanque, Pirque, with surprisingly good quality too.
“However, some properties in Leyda, Ovalle and Casablanca, have decreased in yield in comparison to the previous season.
“To date, we are up 39% in terms of volume over season 2020. We predict a high volume of wine and a great year in terms of quality.
“This year will see white wines with fresh and aromatic typicity, and fantastic red wines showing deep colour, high tannin concentration and fruity aromas,” Santa Rita Estate’s head of viticulture, Gerardo Leal, said in his mid-harvest report.
Across the Andes in Argentina, Doña Paula’s head of viticulture and winemaking, Martin Kaiser, said the growing season had been “easy” following a frosty start.
“The rest of the season has been quite easy in terms of climate: the spring was a little bit warmer than usual, and the summer has been cooler than usual, which makes this harvest ideal for us.
“With a cool summer and autumn the ripening process has slowed which has allowed us to pick grape with optimum ripeness. March and the beginning of April have been drier than usual, with good conditions for the red grape harvest.
“This vintage is bringing fantastic yields, with some vineyards breaking records of production, surprisingly with really good quality too.
“We can already see it is going to be a great year for white wines with lovely aromatics, showing elegance and nice concentration. So far the red wines that have been racked show deep colour, good varietal expression and medium to high fine tannin concentration,” Kaiser said.