2015 Southern Rhône Vintage

The southern Rhône and Provence had a long, hot and dry growing season in 2015. Michel Gassier, a Costières de Nîmes producer, saw late budbreak, but by bloom the vintage had caught up with a normal year; the summer was hot and dry and veraison started mid-July, within the norm, though it languished on young Grenache under pronounced hydric stress, a problem not seen on old vines. Late August rains were scattered, with heavier downfalls in some areas. Gassier counted two August storms: small amounts of water helped, while big ones created health issues on early-ripening Viognier and Syrah. At Château de Beaucastel, Marc Perrin found the cool August nights kept acidity in the grapes, and late-ripening Mourvèdre benefited from the rain, the sun and the Indian summer. The timing of rainfalls shaped the year, with later-ripening zones such as Gigondas and the Côtes du Rhône Villages of Valréas and Visan doing particularly well. In Châteauneuf-du-Pape, a rather standard spring brought 170mm of rain, then a hot, dry summer saw temperatures regularly over 37°C and less than 60mm of rain from mid-June to mid-August. The first whites there were picked at the end of August and the last Mourvèdre not until mid-October, and thundery storms in mid-September did not affect quality. Accounts of crop size differ: Decanter's John Livingstone-Learmonth found that, for once, the crop was abundant after a good flowering, while growers in Wine Spectator's harvest report described healthy vineyards and a normal-sized crop.

• Long, hot and dry season; in the Costières de Nîmes, late budbreak had caught up by bloom
• Scattered late August storms; big ones caused health issues on Viognier and Syrah
• Châteauneuf-du-Pape: highs regularly over 37°C; picking from the end of August to mid-October

Châteauneuf-du-Pape logged 1941 hours of sunshine from April to September 2015, more than in 2010 and 2011, and fermentations went smoothly from start to finish. The appellation's federation called the vintage generous in colour, structure, ripeness and quantity, the last a rare occurrence for an appellation known for its low yields. It described reds with deep, dark colours, fresh black fruit and silky, fine tannins, set to age for many years yet drinkable young, just like the 1990, 1998 and 2010 vintages, and whites with low acidity for drinking now. John Livingstone-Learmonth was more guarded in Decanter: in early-ripening Châteauneuf, grape sugars advanced ahead of tannins, leaving some 'hot' wines. Grenache was slow to ripen in the more northerly zones, while alcohol could be high in the warm southern areas, and heavy early September rain favoured free-draining sandy soils. He judged 2015 more a vintage for blends than single-vineyard wines and found the Tradition reds performed best. Jean-Paul Daumen of Domaine de la Vieille Julienne put it plainly: "It wasn't an easy year." Jean-Paul Versino of Bois de Boursan found the reds, with low acidity, made him think of 2007.

• A generous crop, rare for an appellation known for its low yields
• 1941 hours of sunshine April to September, more than 2010 and 2011
• Grape sugars ran ahead of tannins in early-ripening sites
• Heavy early September rain favoured free-draining sandy soils

Livingstone-Learmonth called 2015 a real winner in Gigondas, aided by the fine September weather, with a cool, crystalline quality to the wines, and Louis Barruol of Château St-Cosme called it "a major vintage, with the Grenache doing well". Vacqueyras had a bold year, its reds delivering stylish richness, lots of body and spice; Guy Ricard of Domaine Le Couroulu called it "not far off being the perfect vintage." By Livingstone-Learmonth's estimate, Gigondas and the best Vacqueyras will live 15+ years, and reds from Rasteau, Vinsobres, Lirac and Beaumes-de-Venise are well built to age over 10+ years. 2015 is the first vintage when Cairanne can be sold as cru, though some growers stayed as Villages. For Côtes du Rhône and Villages reds he rated it a good vintage, very good in places, with lots of fruit, well absorbed tannins and dark colours.

• Fine September weather aided Gigondas
• Vacqueyras reds with richness, body and spice
• Cairanne's first vintage sold as cru
• Côtes du Rhône and Villages reds with lots of fruit and dark colours

Livingstone-Learmonth judged 2015 a generally very good southern Rhône vintage, but not on par with greats such as 1990 and 2010, with a freshness reminiscent of 2001, and he placed the south behind the northern Rhône that year. He found the reds dense and lined with good tannins, the best set to live for 20 years at least, and the whites full. Winemakers in Wine Spectator's harvest report called it a power vintage: most growers saw high alcohols and lots of phenolics but sometimes low acidity, and some worried about ripeness over elegance. Perrin did more whole-cluster fermentation than ever because the stems were so ripe, while Éric Texier warned: "The alcohol is totally out of control in most places and acidity historically low."

• Reds dense and lined with good tannins; whites full
• High alcohols and phenolics, sometimes low acidity