2012 Southern Rhône Vintage

While most of France's major wine regions struggled in 2012, the Rhône stood apart, with a growing season and harvest marked by dry, sunny weather and well-timed rains. The Southern Rhône had a dry, sunny year, and some southern spots suffered from drought conditions. Michel Gassier of Château de Nages in Costières de Nîmes described the late summer: "By end of August some spots were starting to show water deprivation. But a little rain at the beginning of September allowed the ripening process to conclude its course and harvest started at a normal, or maybe a tad late date." Picking in the Southern Rhône started on 2 October. Across the valley, despite a few complications at the start of summer, there were no major difficulties to speak of. The Rhône was mainly influenced by a Mediterranean climate, while the rest of France was subject to Oceanic influences. On volume, the south was heterogeneous and the crop small, while in the north the volume was closer to normal.

• Southern Rhône: a dry, sunny year, with drought conditions in some spots
• Late season: water deprivation in some spots by end of August, then a little rain at the beginning of September let ripening run its course
• Southern picking started on 2 October
• Crop: small and heterogeneous in the south, closer to normal in the north

Inter-Rhône's own vintage report gave the south a heading of its own for its blends. As rosé, Grenache with Cinsault showed excellent results: the Cinsault vines were not overloaded, ripened beautifully and made some very flavoursome wines. Grenache with Syrah produced good depth of colour and powerful flavours, with a good balance of acidity to alcohol giving freshness, and a good level of acidity let the whites keep both their freshness and their breadth of flavour. Growers quoted in the report spoke well of their own appellations. In Rasteau, André Roméro of Domaine de la Soumade put it this way: "2012s are elegant and well-structured with good depth of colour, but without excessive levels of alcohol." For Cairanne, André Farjon of Domaine de Dionysos in Uchaux found Grenache showing plenty of fruit and finesse, with Syrah and Mourvèdre showing excellent structure and good texture. Yves Favier, President of the Ventoux appellation, called Ventoux Syrah highly expressive with moderate alcohol levels, and Fanny Boyer of Château Beaubois described Costières de Nîmes reds as elegant and charming, with floral aromas and fine tannins.

Most Châteauneuf-du-Pape producers were particularly pleased with the 2012 vintage. JancisRobinson.com judged it a little low in acidity but with brighter fruit than 2011, more freshness than 2009 and riper tannins than 2010, and quoted Vincent Avril of Clos des Papes: "2012 has the potential of 2010 with the finesse of 2005." Beyond Châteauneuf, Frédéric Chaudière of Pesquié called 2012 "very, very good in Ventoux, with the finesse of 2010 and the power of 2009". In the same review, some Cairanne 2012s nudged 15% alcohol but still tasted agreeably fresh, and a number of excellent 2012s came from the villages of Vinsobres and Chusclan. Of the 535 southern Rhône 2012 reds JancisRobinson.com tasted, 109 Châteauneufs and 21 wines from other appellations scored at least 17 out of 20.

• Châteauneuf-du-Pape: a little low in acidity, with brighter fruit than 2011, more freshness than 2009 and riper tannins than 2010, as JancisRobinson.com tasted it
• Vincent Avril, Clos des Papes: "2012 has the potential of 2010 with the finesse of 2005."
• Cairanne: some 2012s nudged 15% alcohol but still tasted agreeably fresh to JancisRobinson.com
• Vinsobres and Chusclan: a number of excellent 2012s in the JancisRobinson.com tasting