Rhone 2013 - a silver lining - and a quick word on 2012s

Walking through some Grenache vines in Châteauneuf –du-Pape at the end of September 2013 was glorious.  It was a bright, sunny and rather balmy afternoon, unusually so at that time of year even for the Southern Rhône.  As I looked at the vines, sparsely dotted with the odd bunch, most of them grapillons (the second flush of grapes that are left on the vine after vintage because they never ripen and are not used to make wine,) I imagined how glorious the crop would have looked and how gratifying harvest must have been.  So it was to my great surprise later that evening to learn that picking had not even started yet.  Nearly a year on, I travelled out( this week) to taste the results. 


Uneven weather before and during the 2013 flowering period resulted in the dropping of embryonic bunches, followed by aborted flowering of those that remained. Grenache was the most severely affected variety in the South and given that this makes up 70% of the typical Châteauneuf blend, was something of a catastrophe for growers.  A drop of 30 to 50% compared to a usual harvest was reported across the region, for many producers it was the smallest crop they had ever seen.  In the North, depending on the vineyard and individual terroir, Syrah was worse affected than it was further south and there were also tiny yields for Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne. Furthermore a very uneven wet and cold summer meant it was a late vintage, the latest in thirty years of wine producing for one particular Hermitage vigneron. 

However the small crop was very much a silver lining, particularly in the North. What grapes there were ripened well in the sunny, dry, end of September / early October conditions and good acidity levels were maintained.

Broadly speaking in the North this is a 2012 plus plus vintage. 2013 has a similar profile to ’12 but with more ripeness and concentration, whilst retaining an agile, refreshing quality. I tasted some juicy, classical, luscious Cornas and Hermitages but even better were the Côte Rôties, where growers generally recorded half a crop but were offered more than double the recompense by nature in terms of quality.  This is a great Côte Rôtie vintage.  The whites in 2013 are great, too, the Condrieus were some of the best I had ever tasted. They offered ripe, fruity flavours without the heaviness sometimes associated with these wines and displayed mineral, linear finishes. 

In the south the wines were uncommonly refreshing and relatively low in alcohol  (13.5 to 14 % rather than 15 to 15.5%)  However they could not trump the exquisite 2012s - I re-tasted many of these in Châteauneuf – my initial opinion of them last year was more than confirmed.  2012 is one of the very great Châteauneuf-du-Pape vintages with a refinement and subtle beauty that was largely missed or under-appreciated upon release. Snap them up while you can. 

Coming back to 2013: It was an extreme, marginal vintage that will certainly be variable in quality amongst less quality-conscious growers.  There was a fine line between good and bad.  However at the region’s quality-minded estates, on the right side of the line, the quality can be utterly brilliant.

Vintage Report: René Rostaing’s 2012s.

Producing some of the very finest wines from the Rhône valley, René Rostaing, winemaking for 43 years has acquired star status. He very generously spent some time with us to talk about his views on the most recent vintage and gave us an insight into his wines.

What has 2012 been like in the Rhône?

- Rhône 2012 from the very beginning looked like another classic vintage. After a normal summer, without any excessive heat, we harvested around the 20th September. The ripeness was even throughout thanks to low yields (around -20%), not to mention the berries were healthy as well. We had good weather conditions with only one day of rain that didn’t impact the grapes.

What were you most pleased about in 2012?

- All the grapes enjoyed the same conditions equally and reached the optimum of their potential.

What are the characteristics of this vintage?

- The wines are at first noticeable by their fruit which is strong and round. They are tasty and generous in aromas and lead to a lovely freshness towards the end. But let’s be patient! The wine in its first two years is ‘in process’ and its evolution is sometimes hard to predict. Today, the bright fruit is the dominant characteristic.  Age will certainly bring some structure and austerity as the wine closes down after a couple of years in bottle. It’s an evolution that I have witnessed many times.

Were there any other vintages that you can compare 2012 to?

- More than any other year, 2012 has its own personality. I do not remember any vintage this pronounced in terms of fruit expression and freshness. Tasting it is currently really enjoyable and I think the balance showing now is promising.

Rhone: Topsy Turvy 2013 and Brilliant 2012

As I arrived in the Southern Rhone last week growers were debating anxiously with each other as to when to start their 2013 grenache harvest, what little of it there was to pick. Poor flowering or Coulure, has literally left just a few berries per vine. The weather last week was positively balmy in Chateauneuf and predicted to continue, but ripening was not complete in all vineyards and the process starts to slow down at this time of year. Picking was predicted to continue this week. This makes 2013 one of the latest in memory, certainly for Jean Abeille of Chateau Mont Redon who has 40 vintages under his belt. Curiously when I travelled to the Northern Rhone a few days later, the harvest had all but finished... A topsy turvy vintage.

2012, however, is a vintage that vignerons are certain of. It is a great year, most notably of all, but not exclusive to, the South. It is not a big crop, but it is qualitatively excellent, and this appears to be the case right across the Southern Rhone, particularly Chateauneuf du Pape. This appears to be a vintage of very ripe but notably fresh flavours, incredibly silky tannins and great intensity. The summer experienced heat spikes but the weather cooled down towards the end of season, so acidities are present but don't seem as high as that other recent great, 2010, and conditions were less dry so that tannins in 2012 are much more pliable. The resulting wines are seductive already but they are deceptively powerful and persistent. Above all the Southern Rhones, particularly in Chateauneuf, offer something very rare, elegance. This seems to me one of the most even-keeled and balanced vintages I have tasted. 

Up north there is a little less homogeneity perhaps, but there are plenty of excellent wines too. There are some wines that may not have been picked at optimum ripeness but the top estates have made, ripe fresh, classically structured Northern Rhones that offer an elegance similar to 2004 but with greater intensity and a little more stuffing. I found the Cornas of Domaine du Coulet and the Cote Rotie of Rene Rostaing to be absolutely outstanding.

For those looking at older vintages, in the south 1999s are drinking well as are 2001s. The excellent 2004s and 2000s are only just starting to come round. In the North the vintages that are drinking beautifully are 2000, 2001, and 2004.

Rhone 2012 and 2011: updates

Last week Rhone growers gathered together to show their 2011s, and the odd 2012 under the table, in Avignon at the Palais des Papes, Tain Hermitage, Mauves and Ampuis.  Aswell as the bad and the ugly there was significant representation from the great and the good.  In a strong show of viticultural "fraternite" growers were out in force, it was an impressive display.

I found some very good Rasteau, Lirac, Vacqueyras and Gigondas wines. It is clear that when carefully chosen these areas can offer wines of great character and exceptional value, though there is still too much inconsistency, perhaps this may have been a little exaggerated in a year like 2011 where less capable growers stuck out like saw thumbs. The vintage is also inconsistent in Chateauneuf and one that really separates the wheat from the chaff.  Some wines can be just a little lacking and overly alcoholic whilst others were delightfully delicious already - well-balanced, fragrant and easy on the brain with enough structure and character to make them interesting, whilst not being too demanding.  Thank goodness because 2009s and 2010s are intense and don't look like budging anywhere soon.  The highlights of those I tasted last week were Pegau, Barroche, St Prefert and Vieux Telegraphe.  It is a vintage that favours the North, certainly. However from the odd 2012 i tasted north and south of Montelimar, its seems that the situation is reversed a little.  2012 looks to be an excellent year in the Southern Rhone. It is certainly something to keep a close eye on.

The Northern Rhone provided a plethora of 2011 wines that gave immense pleasure.  I would guess that a good 98% of top producers accross all of the appellations in the North turned up last week, it was a veritable Mecca for the Syrah lover.  2011 may not be a 2010 or 2009 but it offers a suave texture and openness that is rather unusual for young Northern Rhones, and whilst this suggests they will drink well young (good news) there is enough depth and complexity to suggest good medium term, 10 -12 year ageing potential.  Hermitage provided some highlights, but this was trumped by Cornas. Hermitage may have exceptional terroir but Cornas is a haven for young and established wine-growing talent.  There were 6 domaines that in my view produced excellent quality 2011s, more than in Hermitage, our own Domaine du Coulet and Thierry Allemand being two of them, not to mention the distinct but brilliant Clape wines, aswell as those of Vincent Paris, in addition to two other growers not on the Wine advocate radar who will remain nameless, don't want to be giving too much of the game away!

The Cote Rotie tasting was a roll call of the greatest names in the region, including Messrs Guigal and Jamet, and there were a clutch of impressive 2011s on show but it still remains a frustrating appellation, you really get the feeling that there is so much more potential than is being delivered.  The bright star that outshone all others was without doubt Clusel Roch, these are wines that have equal measures of refinement, character, depth and lightness of touch. They strike the balance better than any.

Back to Britain through blizzards only to come back again to Burgundy yesterday , more in a few days.