2014 Southern Rhône Vintage

The southern part of the valley had a relatively rainy winter, followed by a coolish summer and a moderate climate that favoured ripening. Across the Rhone Valley as a whole there was no major water stress and good, even development across all varieties. Chateauneuf-du-Pape offers the most detailed local picture: a mild, rainy winter built up water reserves, then a dry, hot spring brought 54 mm of rain over three months, with minimum and maximum temperatures 1 degree C above average. An early harvest looked likely there, with whites expected in late August and reds in early September, and growers green harvested in July to reduce yields on the most generous vines. Instead, weekly summer rain (158 mm in July and August, against 89 mm in 2013 and 91 mm in 2012), cool nights and below-average sunshine (1,768 hours over six months, against 1,811 in 2012) turned 2014 within weeks into one of the latest vintages of the decade in Chateauneuf-du-Pape, and picking there did not begin until 16 September. In the southern Rhone September was less dry than in the north, with more persistent rains, and rain hampered the harvest throughout the valley. In Gigondas, Louis Barruol of Chateau de St.-Cosme called the sorting table important, with some grapes with botrytis, and some that had not fully ripened, removed. Southern picking stretched from late September to mid-October. On volume, Inter Rhone reported high yields across the valley and full harvests in every appellation except one or two localised hail-hit areas, with some 3 million hl forecast for the Rhone Valley, of which the Cotes du Rhone regional and Villages appellations could account for up to 1.9 million hl. Wine Spectator's valley-wide summary, by contrast, called yields very low.

• Southern Rhone: relatively rainy winter and a coolish summer
• Chateauneuf-du-Pape: dry, hot spring, then 158 mm of rain in July and August and below-average sunshine
• Southern Rhone: September less dry than in the north, with more persistent rains; picking from late September to mid-October
• Rhone Valley: about 3 million hl forecast, up to 1.9 million hl of it Cotes du Rhone regional and Villages

In Chateauneuf-du-Pape the work done in the vines through the seasons was key to a great result, in a working year that started early in spring and finished late in autumn. The coolish summer after a rather warm spring brought the phenolic and technological maturities of the appellation's grape varieties into line, with the few unripe grapes sorted out at harvest. Late picking meant late pressing, with press rooms busy until the early days of November. The juices were fruity and well balanced, with alcohol slightly under average (1 percent), rounded on the palate with fine, melted tannins. Whites had excellent acidity, sharp and mineral, and reward patience in the cellar. The appellation's own vintage page sums it up as silky in tannin, elegant and opulent, on par with 2011 and 2012.

• Work in the vines through the seasons was key to the result
• Harvest held up until 16 September; press rooms ran until early November
• Alcohol slightly under average, with fine, melted tannins
• Whites with excellent acidity, sharp and mineral; the vintage on par with 2011 and 2012

Inter Rhone hailed an unequivocal comeback for Grenache, the dominant variety, in warm, rounded wines carrying the spiced blackcurrant and blackberry flavours typical of the southern appellations, a touch less tannic than usual. After the relatively rainy winter and coolish summer, wines were expected to be slightly less full-bodied than normal. Roses and whites were excellent, fresh and luscious, balanced and lively. Colour intensity varies between sectors, while flavours are relatively consistent across the south. Wine Spectator found the opposite for Grenache: in the south it struggled, while the supporting players Syrah and Mourvedre performed very well. Speaking for the whole valley, Inter Rhone president Michel Chapoutier said: "2014 is distinctive for a freshness, minerality and texture which simply aren't there in sunnier vintages."

• Grenache in the south: accounts differ, from a comeback to a struggle
• Syrah and Mourvedre performed very well in the south
• Roses and whites fresh, luscious, balanced and lively
• Colour intensity varied by sector; flavours relatively consistent across the south