2008 - After a classic winter, particularly cold and with three snowfalls, the vegetative awakening took place in the second half of March, in line with the traditional timetable, followed by excellent spring weather. Starting from early June the weather worsened considerably, with rain almost daily and temperatures of 2-3° below the seasonal average: these conditions continued till the first ten days of July, which had a negative influence on the flowering of the vines and thus led to marked phenomena of floral abortion and a vegetative delay. The aforementioned weather conditions were such as to lead to attacks of downy mildew, and only those winegrowers who traditionally work in a professional way were able to avoid seeing their crops damaged: our preventive cures helped to avoid any and all harm. In that moment, the aforementioned weather conditions made us slightly pessimistic as regards the possible quantitative and qualitative results of the harvest.

Fortunately, in mid-July the weather conditions changed radically upon the arrival of sunshine and a rise in the temperatures to traditional seasonal levels: clear skies and day/night temperatures of 15-18°. In Piedmont these weather conditions continued uninterruptedly up till October, interspersed only by a couple of summer storms, enabling a recovery of the vegetative growth and the continuation of the ripening of the grapes in a gradual and perfect manner, helped on by the decidedly low quantity of grapes on the vines.

Harvesting began in line with the once classic years, and that is: on 3 rd September for the Chardonnay, on 7 th September for the Moscato, on 18th September for the Arneis, on 23rd September for the Cortese, on 25 th September for the Albarossa, on 28th September for the Barbera and on 10th October for the Nebbiolo, with which harvesting came to an end on 21st October. We harvested vineyard by vineyard, when the grapes were justly ripe: this was possible thanks to the continuing good weather and to the state of the grapes, whose skins were thick and unbroken. The yield was on average 15-20% below the norm, but with a quality that satisfied us completely for all the varieties. At the moment the qualities of the white wines Gavi Arneis ad Moscato are well defined, with extremely intense, delicate aromas and elegant flavours that possess an excellent tart freshness.

Albarossa shows itself to be highly rich, with the promise of an extraordinary vintage. The Barbera d'Asti is undoubtedly of a very high level: after the great vintages of 2006 and 2007, we feel that the 2008 one will be very similar to them. We are enthusiastic about the quality of the Nebbiolo wines from Barolo and Barbaresco: a particularly intense colour, very rich aroma, ideal alcoholic content and rich in delicate tannins accompanied by a perfect acidity, characteristics that have traditionally marked vintages of great character and long life: as always, given the complexity of these wines, a couple of years are needed before we can express a definitive judgment; however, if a beautiful day can be foreseen by its dawn, we can be decidedly optimistic. Thus, we are delighted to be able to state that in Langhe and in Monferrato the series of vintages that range from very good to excellent began in 2003 and have continued uninterruptedly to date. I can consider the 2008 vintage as being optimum, obviously for those winegrowers who have paid great attention to the management of their vineyards.