Chianti Classico DOP Olive Oil – This is the 2022 Vintage

Chianti Classico PDO olive oil 2022 has a delicate green color and golden hues; its aroma expresses fresh, grassy sensations, hints of artichokes and green almonds, typical of the designation; its flavor shows enjoyably confident bitterness balanced by a pleasantly lingering piquant finish. The most interesting technical fact is without doubt the yearly outstanding level of polyphenols, essential components in a quality oil and of great nutritional importance. The 2022 production was about 20% higher than 2021.

The seasonal trends of the 2022 olive oil vintage presented very unusual characteristics compared to recent years:

• In spring, there was slightly lower rainfall than the previous year, but being well distributed, it enabled excellent flowering and subsequent fruit set.
• From mid-May until mid-August, the frequent high maximum temperatures, with peaked at over 40°C, put a strain on the regular development of the foliage and fruit, leading to fears of a dangerous fruit drop. Fortunately, it started raining between 15^th and 23^rd August, which enabled the olives to resume regular growth and make up for the development delays accumulated in the previous months.
• The high summer temperatures, on the other hand, were very helpful in preventing attacks by the olive fly, whose movements and dangerous reproductive activity are inhibited when temperatures exceed 31°C for several consecutive hours.
• Starting at the end of August, night temperatures dropped considerably, favoring the start of oil formation in the fruit. The mills started processing the olives as early as 5^th October, confirming a trend that has been going on for several years of early harvesting and pressing activities.

"The olive groves in the Chianti Classico area proved to be robust and resilient in the face of a season that severely tested the technical and agronomic skills of Chianti Classico olive growers. The result is a lively and nuanced PDO olive oil," says Gionni Pruneti, president of the Chianti Classico PDO Olive Oil Consortium. "And we were able to see that attention to new factors in the olive groves and mills, adaptation of growing methods to a changed climate, and a consolidated olive-growing culture play a fundamental role in the production of a fine quality product like Chianti Classico PDO.”