Recaredo’s 2018 vintage year
This year’s harvest restores our sense of hope. After a number of vintages marked by drought, we no longer find ourselves looking skywards yearning for rain, and can enjoy like never before the sight and sound of raindrops falling on the earth.
We record a total rainfall of 781 l/m2 in our vineyards over the wine year, a figure significantly higher than the historical average for Sant Sadurní d’Anoia (527 l/m2).
Overcoming challenges. The rains, especially those that fall in the spring, make the viticulture tasks we perform an exciting challenge. The land demands precise, rigorous and methodical work to prevent problems with fungal diseases, such as downy mildew, which can harm vines during periods of high rainfall. Thanks to continuous monitoring by our viticulture team, we don’t suffer significant damage, and the vines teach us a lesson on adaptat ion, giving the best of themselves.
Phytotherapy (the use of plants to prevent disease or cure other plants) is especially beneficial, particularly treatments based on infusions of nettle and decoctions of horsetail. These plant-based applications protect the vines and help maintain low levels of copper to combat fungal diseases. As always, Recaredo’s vineyards are cultivated with minimum intervention and according to the principles of biodynamic agriculture, a farming system that goes a step beyond organic.
Grapes of great purity. The harvest, which involves meticulous manual selection of grapes, starts on 20 August and ends on 29 September. The harvest is sprinkled with August rains, and moderate temperatures slow the ripening process. Fortunately, nature smiles on us and we aren’t hit by the intense heat waves we’ve experienced in previous years. As a result, we can finish harvesting the vineyards planted at higher elevations, satisfied with the decisions we’ve made, and with grapes that are of great purity and in very good health.
The must made from the 2018 harvest expresses a personality full of energy, with fresh acids and great aromatic potential. In short, the vintage confirms our conviction that great wines are grown, not made.
