2011 Southern Rhône Vintage

The spring was very warm and dry across the Rhone, and vineyards shot out at a rapid pace. In Chateauneuf-du-Pape, April, May and June were very hot and dry, favouring rapid growth, and flowering came 12 days earlier than the year before. Marc Perrin of Chateau de Beaucastel said: "The spring was extremely warm and dry and we thought the harvest would be very early." Summer then slowed things. Nicole Sierra-Rolet of Chene Bleu, in the Ventoux, said: "But July was unseasonably cold and that slowed things down significantly." Perrin described a July that was very nice part of the time and quite rainy and cool part of the time, with the mistral following the rain so the vines did not suffer water stress. The heat returned in August, leading to some shriveled berries and stalled ripening, and early-September rains cooled the vineyards before a long Indian summer ran through October, allowing the grapes to ripen fully. In Chateauneuf-du-Pape, July and August averaged 22.6C with 103.5 mm of rain, which the appellation's own vintage report called ideal for the vines. Rainfall between 10 June and 10 September came to 125 mm against 30 mm a year earlier, and there were 72 days above 30C against 55. The harvest, expected from the start of the year to be much earlier than previous ones, turned out just like a normal year. It was extremely spread out, from the second week of August for some wineries to the beginning of October for late-ripening varieties and terroirs. At Beaucastel, despite the warm spring, they eventually had quite a late harvest. Most growers in the south reported normal yields.

The estimated normal yield was 33 hl/ha, and the appellation returned to its quantity standards after the last few years of low-volume crops. The forecast put the 2011 crop at 100,000 hl of red Chateauneuf-du-Pape and a little more than 5,000 hl of white, from 350 wine-makers on 3,160 hectares. Weather during the harvest helped immensely, letting grapes be picked at optimal maturity, and in September Provence enjoyed an amazing Indian summer, perfect weather for picking. The appellation's own vintage report described wines from the first half of the harvest as well balanced and fresh with lots of fruit, and from the second half as more concentrated, dense and full-bodied, and expected 2011 to be a wonderful year for Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

Across the valley, Wine Spectator found most Rhone vintners exceedingly optimistic for a third straight outstanding year, though a handful rued some late rains and heat that blemished what could have been a perfect growing season. In Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Thierry Sabon of Clos du Mont-Olivet said: "Each winery could choose between harvesting quite early to keep a natural acidity and a classic balance, or harvest very ripe for a more modern style". Isabel Ferrando of Domaine St.-Prefert called the early autumn weather invaluable, bled some tanks for concentration and kept more stems than ever for density; she compared the vintage to 2000 and 1998 in style. At Beaucastel, Perrin reported good acidity, alcohol levels in line with 2010, and very nice fruit and great balance in the first wines, and ventured a comparison with 2000 while stressing that it was early.