Every harvest tells the story of a year. The 2026 harvest at Vicente Gandía has been defined by contrasts: a rainy autumn and spring, an extremely dry summer, and a slightly smaller crop, but one marked by outstanding concentration and exceptional quality.
From Finca Hoya de Cadenas, Diego Morcillo, Technical Director at Vicente Gandía, reflects on a vintage that stands out for its remarkable quality and for the potential shown by both the white and red grapes.
In his own words, this is a harvest destined to rank among the winery’s great vintages.
A Harvest Shaped by Climatic Contrasts
The 2026 growing season began with favourable conditions for vineyard development. Both autumn and spring brought considerable rainfall, providing the vines with the resilience they needed to achieve healthy vigour and adequate canopy growth.
Diego Morcillo explains:
]”>“Autumn and spring were quite rainy, which gave the vineyard the resilience it needed to develop good vigour and an adequate canopy.”
However, conditions changed completely during the summer. The months leading up to harvest were marked by an almost total absence of rainfall.
]”>“The summer was extremely dry, with virtually no rainfall at all.”
These conditions resulted in a slight reduction in the size of the 2026 crop. In return, the grapes achieved high levels of concentration and were in exceptionally healthy condition, something which, as Diego Morcillo points out, had also been the case the previous year.
]”>“The 2026 crop was slightly smaller, but in return we obtained grapes with excellent concentration and exceptional health, just as we did the previous year.”
The result is a harvest that Vicente Gandía’s Technical Director describes as a vintage of outstanding quality.
“This is an extraordinary vintage, of an exceptionally high standard and with great concentration.”
Freshness in the Whites and Concentration in the Reds
The characteristics of Finca Hoya de Cadenas have played a particularly important role in this year’s harvest. Its altitude made it possible to pick the white grapes while preserving the freshness needed to achieve the style the winery seeks in these wines.
]”>“The altitude of the estate allowed us to harvest the white grapes with the freshness required to preserve the intense tropical fruit character we look for in our wines.”
Freshness and fruit intensity therefore stand out as two of the defining characteristics of the white grapes from this vintage.
In the case of the reds, the concentration achieved opens up a wide range of winemaking possibilities. Diego Morcillo highlights their potential both for young wines and for wines intended for ageing.
]”>“The concentration of the red grapes will allow us to produce both young wines and wines for ageing, with great finesse, elegance and ageing potential.”
A Harvest to Remember
The overall assessment of the 2026 harvest at Vicente Gandía is extremely positive. Autumn and spring rainfall helped the vineyards withstand an exceptionally dry summer. The lack of precipitation slightly reduced the size of the crop, but resulted in grapes with excellent concentration and exceptional health.
For the white varieties, the altitude of Finca Hoya de Cadenas helped preserve the freshness and fruit-driven character sought by the winery. For the reds, the level of concentration offers considerable potential to produce both young wines and wines for ageing, combining finesse and elegance.
Diego Morcillo sums up the expectations surrounding this harvest:
]”>“We are looking at a harvest that will undoubtedly go down as one of the great vintages in the history of our winery.”
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Don’t miss the video in which Diego Morcillo explains in detail what the 2026 harvest was like.
