Bock RedY 2018About the year
The year opened with a relatively mild and dry winter (January and February). Temperatures for the season were typically between -1 and 5 °C, with daytimes being pleasantly above zero.
March began warm, followed by a couple of mid-month cooler weeks, but by the end of the month temperatures more than once reached 20°C. It continued to get warmer in April, and so the first week of the month saw the vines in bud. Then, in mid-April, two cooler weeks brought Nature to a halt, slowing the development of shoots. There had been practically no precipitation between early September 2018 and April (100-120 mm); the first larger showers came in April.
May was colder than in previous years, and so blossoming only began in June, even with early varieties. Precipitation in April had tripled (140-160 mm). However, along with the June blooms came an unexpected heat wave of around 30 °C, and so there were varieties that did not take hold perfectly.
Things sprang to life in mid-July, from which it follows that this year the harvest did not begin in August.
By the end of July the summer heat had arrived, with temperatures of 30-35°C, followed in the first ten days of August by a slight drop. The rest of August was extremely hot, occasionally reaching 40°C, and even the customary fall after August 20 failed to appear, with temperatures of 25-30°C continuing until mid-September. Mid-to-late September temperatures ranged between 20-25°C, the hot, dry days being alleviated by the occasional refreshing rain. Temperatures remained at a typical 20°C right through to the end of October, when the cold suddenly arrived with a great deal of rain.
We began the vintage on August 22 with the earliest variety, Irsai Olivér, then due to a few days of intensive rain continued with the early whites (Chardonnay, Rizlingszilváni) and the blue grapes needed for making sparkling wine (Pinot Noir). After that came the kékoportó, and we were able to carry out the rest of the harvest more or less uninterruptedly, successfully completing it on October 28 before the arrival of the cold and the rain.
We were able to harvest healthy grapes of good quality in 2019, and we calculate a good year.
