1989 Italy

A very good vintage in Piedmont but decidedly more mixed in Tuscany.

A vicious hailstorm in June led to some Piedmont growers losing as much as 60% of their crop. Unlike the rest of Italy, Piedmont then basked in glorious sunshine throughout the rest of the growing season and the grapes were healthy and ripe at harvest time. In Barolo and Barbaresco yields were significantly lower than in previous years but the quality was extremely high with the wines being arguably the finest of the decade.

Tuscany had a mixed year with a lot of rain and below average sunshine hours. A year to stick with proven and established growers.