Southern Rhone Vintages Flashcards
To understand the effects of weather on wine.
Southern Rhone Vintage 2005
Great concentration and potential coinciding with increasing consistency of winemaking quality.
Southern Rhone Vintage 2006
Some very luscious fruited wines that may not last as long as the 2005s but should provide much drinking pleasure in the medium term.
Southern Rhone Vintage 2007
Very wet spring but the region had a much drier summer than most of the rest of France. Wines and tannins are very ripe.
Southern Rhone Vintage 2008
Quite gutless reds, thanks to the rain, although whites are worth a look.
Southern Rhone Vintage 2009
Hot and dry throughout August, but decent levels of rainfall too, and plenty of wind to keep the vines healthy. Very satisfactory quality fruit at harvest. Impressive. Sometimes over-alcoholic.
Southern Rhone Vintage 2010
A very successful vintage, with precision and freshness allowing great expression of terroir. Equally outstanding for whites and reds. Excellent.
Southern Rhone Vintage 2011
Reasonably good quality and good yields, but won’t be as brilliant as the preceding two vintages. Often drying tannins.
Southern Rhone Vintage 2012
Much more successful than 2011. It was a low-acid year in both the northern and southern Rhône. Alcohols are roughly average, but volumes are down by up to 15% on 2011. Clement weather late in the season made made for relaxed harvesting however, and vignerons are optimistic about the results which seem to combine ripeness and some freshness.
Southern Rhone Vintage 2013
Coulure was this year’s bugbear for the vigneron of the Southern Rhône, drastically reducing the Grenache crop: 2013 Côtes du Rhône may well be in short supply. As is often the case where low yields are matched by careful selection, overall quality is good.
Southern Rhone Vintage 2014
A relatively light vintage in terms of alcohol and phenolics, even if not in terms of quantity. A mild winter and westerly spring built up water reserves. The growing season started unusually early but a cool, wet summer put on the brakes so in the end the harvest was one of the latest ever and some red wine grapes struggled to reach full ripeness. Sorting was essential.
Southern Rhone Vintage 2015
Grenache suffered from coulure at flowering, meaning lower yields but the quality is extremely promising. Alcohol levels are likely to be higher than in the previous two vintages.
Southern Rhone Vintage 2016
According to Michel Chapoutier, 2016 could be better than 1990 in the Southern Rhône - praise indeed. Warm conditions throughout the year along with reduced yields has resulted in wines of great concentration - in color, tannin and flavor. Certainly one of the great vintages, for reds anyway.
Southern Rhone Vintage 2017
Frost then rain then heatwaves didn’t make things easy for vignerons in the southern Rhône, and the harvest was early and small. The berries were similarly petite, resulting in marked concentration that has produced age worthy reds.
