Something unusual is happening at the
moment: it’s raining in the Alto Cachapoal! And not just a drizzle but real
rain, and lots of it, starting last night and continuing until tomorrow. Our growing season is mostly dry, from October until
March, so we depend on irrigation water from the Andes to get our grapes ripe,
unless something like this happens.
Fortunately, the rain caught us by surprise
but we were prepared: we’d just sprayed against fungal diseases, and although
we were about to stop irrigating for a while, to start preparing the vines for
summer, this rain will probably not penetrate to the depths of the soil where
most roots are. Our soils are gravelly and deep and drain very well, so there
is less to worry about. There are just some drops falling in my office, due to an obstructed draining pipe...
This season has been cool almost since the
start. Only a few weeks before flowering and the occasional day in between was
there any real heat, which at least is good for the workers. The cool weather
has caused some uneven fruit set, so we won’t be looking at a huge harvest.
Qualitatively this is interesting though, as long as we get to adequate ripeness.
Our vineyard management last year has
yielded its fruits as well: the 2012 wines have more freshness and color than
ever, and tannins are integrating well. This means less need for fining and the
result is better and more natural wines. Malolactic fermentations were slow,
but almost all batches are finished by now. We hope to do a first complete
assessment of what we have in barrels soon.
Christmas is next week, so these last weeks
have been busier than usual. We got quite a few orders during November and
December to keep us busy. Some lunches and dinners this week, and this Friday
we’ll have a barbecue (if the weather allows!) with our staff before the
holidays.
The team at Lagar de Bezana wishes all our
readers -and drinkers- the best for the
Holidays and a good start in 2013!!!