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      2019 Harvest according to Giorgio Franci

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      Climate is the primary condition to which a producer must refer. Those who experience the countryside, every morning, when they wake up, they look at the sky and it is at that moment that they define their plans.

      Then they go to the field to evaluate the vegetative development of the crops. Being a producer in a complex climatic situation means many things: to manage emergencies, to harvest the best of what comes, to have mastery and absolute respect.
      The climatic trend in recent years has always been surprising and also this year has shown clear and unexpected alternations, so unpredictable as to compromise the work of the entire year, making difficult the correct planning of the harvest and of the entire production.

      First climatic flow. Positive.
      At the beginning everything seemed to predict the best. In fact, 2019 started with a soft winter, almost atypical for our areas, to the point that ideal conditions have also been created for the vegetative recovery of the trees affected by the gelicide of winter 2018, giving strength to the hope of returning to production in the next season. The good weather remained until flowering, punctual, wonderful and generous, which allowed abundant and healthy fruit to be expected. A beautiful rain in August favored the trees, which reached optimal conditions in September. In these months, precise checks had highlighted the first signs of the presence of the fly, which we managed to contain, thanks to our experience, both in organic and conventional agriculture.

      Second climatic flow. Negative.
      In October, ready to start the harvest, nature regained the upper hand showing its power which, in certain cases, can destroy a whole year’s work. Days with strong north wind and days with high temperatures and drought. In a crucial phase, from an optimal condition we went to a very difficult situation to manage and some trees started to have dehydration problems.

      Third climatic flow. Positive.
      Frequent rains in the last week of October have rebalanced the state of the olives, but also slowed the harvesting process. Despite everything, the last week of October and the first of November offered the best conditions for the olive harvest and the production of the highest quality oils.

      Fourth climatic flow. Happy ending.
      Since the second week of November, the increasingly frequent and abundant rains have created difficulties for the harvest which ended with difficulty but giving excellent profiles to the oils.
      At this point, after an entire year of work, we experience a brief moment of respite, of silence, almost of recollection. Silence in the fields, where the olive trees have borne fruit, silence in the oil mill where the machines are turned off, silence in the tasting room, where the fruit of our work is measured. But the work continues: the ferment grows in the warehouse, customers wait, our oils have to reach more than forty countries in the world.

      Here are our oils, different scents and flavors, respectful of the uniqueness of a land, of a tree, of our work. ‘Delicate‘, monovarietal of Frantoio, is soft on the palate and green on the nose, fresh, harmonious, clean. Excellent on dishes with an elegant and delicate flavor, such as red prawn. ‘Le Trebbiane‘, medium fruity, versatile and dynamic, with very well balanced spicy and bitter notes , it is excellent on autumn soups and bruschetta. The ‘Villa Magra‘ offers an elegant intensity that perfectly matches red meats and legume soups. And still the Cru, of which we are particularly proud. The ‘Moraiolo‘ is an explosion of green and fresh notes, with an enveloping bitterness and spiciness, broad on the palate and clear on the nose with very fresh aromas. The ‘Villa Magra Grand Cru‘ an evolution of sensations: at the beginning it offers delicate, sweet, light notes; it then opens in a harmonious, complex green, reminiscent of the artichoke and the almond and, on closing, it surprises with a spicy, warm, persistent sensation in the light tones of black pepper. Excellent on salmon tartare, but also on desserts, ice cream and chocolate. A special note goes to the “Olivastra Seggianese” and the Cru of Olivastra Seggianese “Rose”, from a cultivar that this year has guaranteed excellent production. In particular, ‘Rose’ offers incredible floral hints of rose petal, which make it unique and which  a product of inevitable excellence on sea tartare.

      Every time I taste the oil, I take on new different shades; then I go back to the past and try to understand the origin of a perfume and a flavor, how nature could have influenced their appearance. We completed a complex and, at the same time, fascinating year. An year that I am grateful to have lived, because once again I could enforce my experience.

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