2016 Rhône Valley Vintage

The winter was particularly mild with little sun, and the frost-free spring began cool, which slowed the vines; regular if modest rain built up water reserves. The summer was very hot and very dry, September rain gave fresher grapes, and the Mistral and cool temperatures made for excellent picking conditions with grape health intact. North and south still lived through two different seasons: both halves had a mild winter and a cool, gradual start, but the cold and wet lasted longer in the north. In the north, a brief warm spell in March brought the buds out, and on 17 April hail hit Hermitage. The north saw 52 rain showers between March and July, and flowering ran two to three weeks behind schedule. Mildew appeared as temperatures rose in May, June brought nearly twice the normal rain, and growers then faced oidium in July. August and September were warm and very dry, rain fell on 15 September, and the northern harvest ran unhurried from 20 September to 12 October, around a week later than 2015. In the south, the start was fairly early but moved gradually in cool, dry conditions, and flowering came under nearly ideal conditions. The summer was very dry, with only the occasional shower. August was sunny and hot, and the heat carried into September until rain and cooler temperatures arrived on 15 September. Some whites were picked from late August, and red picking began on 12 September and ran into October. The northern harvest was fairly large except at Hermitage, with Condrieu posting its biggest crop on record at 38hl/ha. In the south, volumes were slightly up on 2015, though coulure on Grenache and small, drought-stressed berries lowered yields.

• Valley-wide: mild winter, frost-free spring, very dry summer, then September rain that freshened the grapes
• North: hail on Hermitage on 17 April, 52 rain showers from March to July, flowering two to three weeks late
• North: warm, very dry August and September; harvest from 20 September to 12 October, about a week later than 2015
• South: very dry summer, hot August, rain and cooler weather on 15 September; red picking from 12 September into October

Walls found the northern 2016s slightly higher in acidity and slightly lower in alcohol than the 2015s, without the same concentration of fruit or weight of tannin, with a fresh style, sprightly tannins and well-defined aromatics, and likened the vintage to 2006 or 2012. Fine early-autumn weather in the north pushed sugars up while cool temperatures preserved acidity. Hermitage carried the scars of the April hail. It was the first hail Marc Sorrel had seen there, and it cut his Hermitage Classique to 20hl/ha against a normal 35hl/ha, while Jean-Louis Chave picked as little as 6hl/ha in some white vineyards; one parcel, Rocoules, which typically fills 18 barrels, would probably give only five. Because the hail came before the grapes had formed, Walls found quality was not adversely affected. In Cote-Rotie, Jean-Paul Jamet finished picking unusually late, on 20 October, saying "I like October maturity".

• Hermitage: Sorrel's Hermitage Classique 20hl/ha against a normal 35hl/ha; Chave as low as 6hl/ha in some white vineyards
• Condrieu had its biggest harvest on record at 38hl/ha; Crozes-Hermitage yields ran high after the wet first half
• Fine early-autumn weather pushed sugars up while cool temperatures preserved acidity
• Pierre Clape in Cornas compared 2016 to 1991

Walls rated the southern 2016s fresher and firmer than 2015, with better structure and balance and notably high acidity, writing: "This is one of the best vintages of the past few decades." He found all varieties performed well, particularly Grenache, with Mourvedre and Carignan juicy and concentrated, and remarkably no losers among the appellations. Most southern growers favored 2016 over 2015 and put the success down to cool nights that offset the heat; Isabel Ferrando of Domaine St.-Prefert in Chateauneuf-du-Pape called it "the hottest summer during daytime but the coolest during nighttime". In Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Walls found real concentration without heaviness and fairly high acidity. Jean-Paul Daumen of Domaine de la Vieille Julienne compares his 2016s to his 2001s, and Vincent Avril of Clos des Papes invokes 2010 and 1990. The reds in the south show rare colour intensity.

• Walls: Gigondas, Vacqueyras and Beaumes de Venise at least as good as 2015, with Gigondas holding the edge
• Cool nights balanced a hot, dry summer in Chateauneuf-du-Pape, in the view of local growers

The two halves point different ways in the cellar. In the north, Francois Tardy of Domaine des Entrefaux predicts the wines will always drink well and not close down, and Laurent Courbis in Cornas calls it a very perfumed vintage, good young. Hermitage is the exception, where reduced yields gave concentrated reds with the sinew and muscle to age. In the south, Walls expects high acidity, ripe fresh fruit and firm tannin structures to give the top wines impressive longevity, and Chateauneuf-du-Pape reds, like the best whites, to need many years to show their best. Across the valley, colour intensity and total polyphenol index were exceptionally high. Walls called the south emphatically a year for reds, and found northern whites an improvement on 2015 but short of 2014, with white Hermitage exceedingly rich and concentrated.

• North: fresh in style and good young, in the view of growers; Hermitage reds built to age
• South: Walls expects impressive longevity from the top wines; Chateauneuf-du-Pape reds and the best whites need many years
• Valley-wide: colour intensity and total polyphenol index exceptionally high