SURFACE AREA: 1.0 ha
SOILS: Clay and presence of limestone
ALTITUDE: 525 m above sea level
EXPOSURE: south-west
PERSONALITY: The Charismatic
The vintage opens with the suggestive winter panorama of the Forte estate, and begins without any notable density.
Everything is bare.
The vines play with the suit of clubs; masters who invite intuition.
The cards are like gems, naked and raw, that will reveal themselves under the care of time.
Little by little we will see the gems in the guise of their cottony appearance, which represents the omen of the green work of the first steps of spring.
Winter has nothing to report to the visible world, it carries with it, in its womb, the utmost confidentiality of future secrets.

Everything flows smoothly like the oil that soothes and reduces the demanding winter efforts, of which the cold season, as a rule, is the conductor.
The only note that deserves to be highlighted is the average temperatures.
The degrees of the thermometer, this winter, have values ??that are constantly higher than the standard.

By following the history of this vintage you will discover the details that underline the difference more, as they say, than make the difference.
The underlining of 2019 has been baptized with a name: density.
The landscape around us, little by little, changes color and the plants increase, thanks to the first leaves, the density of their foliage.

The plantations begin to express their vital richness and their energetic power, deeply immersed in a sinuous and harmonious dance between the rows of vines that surprise even those who are stingy with emotions.

This year, unlike last year, the buds are late rather than early.
The delay in "budding" was caused by a persistently cold spring.
Here too we have witnessed an inversion of natural rhythms and tones: the winter warmer than usual and the spring colder than usual.
These are the ingredients and doses proposed by nature for the winemaking recipe of this vintage.

We, men of the vineyards, have learned to manage and optimize the recipe in favor of the best harvest, remaining faithful to our original vinosophy.
Reading all the vintages you will understand, like us, that the unusual usually happens.

Spring is upon us and is characterized, in addition to the cold, also by a series of showers of the right density, which allow two very useful phenomena:

the creation of substantial water reserves, which are the natural well to water the plants during the hot summer.
the thickening of the vegetation, which appropriately cared for, allows a balanced density of the leaves that is both pleasing to the eye and favorable to order, a friend of the discipline that on the farm is the basis of every quality.
The main motto of the charter of values ??of the founder of our winery is in fact eloquent: "order and cleanliness are the basis of every quality".
This motto becomes a determining aspect for the health of the vineyards because it creates the best conditions for the plants to breathe and develop and, no less importantly, allows respect for the beauty of the microcosm of which we are custodians.

On April 26 and 27, a positive event was reported produced by the coulure of the Sangiovese bunches (reduction of the inflorescences) caused by the rigid temperatures during the nights that blocked the differentiation of some flower buds.

Thanks to this phenomenon, sparse bunches are spontaneously generated that enjoy better aeration, providing greater health.
The reduction of the grapes per bunch allows a greater concentration of the noble ripening compounds, favoring the quality of the Sangiovese.

In the central months of the year, we witness, as always, the silent flowering in the evolution of the vital stages of the vineyards.

We are faced with the awakening of the strength and power of universal energy.
The flowering, as mentioned above, in the first stage is shown with separate flower buds, to pass almost immediately to the flowering expressed by the first colors.

The flowers follow the laws of fertilization until they give rise to the berry, which in this stage are defined as "attached".
The god Bacchus, ruler of wine, begins to make visible the primordial signs of his fruit.
This phase is very important because not all flowers set.
The rate of setting indicates the percentage, different from year to year, of flowers that do not complete this stage of the phenological process.
The rate varies from 25% to 50% depending on the season.

The image of this phenomenon is simplified with the fall of the flowers and berries in the early stages of growth.
How can we not remember a biblical passage from the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel: "The fathers ate the sour grapes and the children's teeth were set on edge".