2018 Southern Rhône Vintage

The Rhone season as a whole started well enough, with a mild spring following a wet winter, and a bit of rain nicked the flowering. In the south, the mistral, the north wind that follows rain and dries wet bunches, never came after successive rains through a very warm May, and mildew spread rapidly. A particularly wet June was the season's most difficult test, with the southern Rhone bearing the brunt of the mildew pressure. Mildew affected all varieties, but Grenache was especially prone, with a cruel predilection for old vines, while Mourvedre was fairly resistant. Organic and biodynamic estates were often the worst hit; those using systemic fungicides were hit less hard, if at all. In Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Vincent Avril of Clos des Papes eventually lost 70% of his crop. After the rains stopped in mid-June, the summer was extremely hot and dry, except for a heavy rain storm on 9 August, with no serious issues during harvest. The southern harvest was more spread out than the north's, with more heterogeneous ripening; at Nalys, the Guigal family's Chateauneuf-du-Pape property, harvest lasted five weeks, with many interruptions to reach full ripeness. Southern yields were significantly down, by as much as 50 percent in some vineyards. Across the Rhone Valley as a whole, some areas were badly hit by downy mildew, September was fairly cool and sunny with low humidity and the Mistral, and early estimates put valley-wide yields at the lower end of the five-year average, but higher than in 2017.

• Very warm, wet May with no mistral; mildew spread fast, with Grenache especially prone and old vines especially affected
• Particularly wet June; the southern Rhone bore the brunt of the mildew pressure
• Rains stopped mid-June; extremely hot, dry summer apart from a heavy rain storm on 9 August
• Southern yields significantly down, as much as 50 percent in some vineyards

In his 2018 report for Decanter, Matt Walls found higher-altitude estates in appellations such as Gigondas frequently the most successful, and named Gigondas the stand-out appellation of 2018, though he would not compare it to the previous three vintages in terms of quality. Chateauneuf-du-Pape performed relatively well, with the more successful wines in a flamboyant and juicy style and the whites broadly as good and more consistent. Beaumes de Venise reds were fairly solid, and Muscat de Beaumes de Venise was a success story. Vacqueyras underperformed, with many wines lacking freshness and depth. Cairanne and Rasteau had a disappointing vintage of light wines often showing a bitter, vegetal streak, while Vinsobres fared better and was a little more consistent. On the west bank, the whites were the most reliable wines, Lirac roses were often on the thin side, and Tavel showed a general lack of flavour intensity and acidity. At harvest, Inter Rhone quoted appellation leaders on the vintage: Rejane Pouzoulas, co-president of the Rasteau appellation, called 2018 a "Top-of-the-range vintage", and for Francois Miquel, co-president of Lirac, "2018s already show excellent quality, and we have every reason to believe that quantities will not disappoint either."

• Gigondas: the stand-out appellation of 2018 for Decanter's Matt Walls
• Chateauneuf-du-Pape performed relatively well, its more successful wines flamboyant and juicy
• Cairanne and Rasteau disappointed; Vinsobres was a little more consistent
• Tavel often lacked flavour intensity and acidity

Where growers escaped the worst of the mildew, the very hot, dry summer gave juicy, generous reds and whites. For Decanter's Matt Walls, estates that were not badly hit often made very good wines, similar to a lighter 2015. Mourvedre-heavy blends performed well. Whites were a little more consistent, between 2015 and 2017 in style: ripe and full-bodied with high alcohol and sometimes low acidity, largely wines to drink young. A lack of acidity characterises the vintage more generally, and Walls's advice was plain: "This is not a vintage to buy blind." Bastien Tardieu of the southern Rhone negociant Tardieu-Laurent put quality between 2015 and 2017, and the crop loss as significant. Inter Rhone's own harvest report found the southern whites and roses highly aromatic, retaining plenty of freshness, called 2018 a particularly good year for Roussanne and Clairette, and found Grenache already showing scents of raspberry and grenadine with peppery overtones.

• Estates not badly hit often made very good wines, similar to a lighter 2015
• Mourvedre-heavy blends performed well
• Whites ripe and full-bodied, high in alcohol, sometimes low in acidity; largely for drinking young
• Aromatic, fresh whites and roses in the south, with a particularly good year for Roussanne and Clairette