2019 Northern Rhône Vintage

Across the Rhone Valley, 2019 was much drier than 2018's very wet spring, with lower-than-usual rainfall recorded every month. Groundwater reserves had been fully replenished by the previous autumn's heavy rain, and mild weather in February and March encouraged the fruit to develop well. The Northern Rhone had a very hot, dry growing season, similar to the south in a year marked by heat and drought, though the heat spikes were not quite so high, with the temperature rarely topping 40 C. The lack of water was not quite so extreme either, with showers at the end of July and in the middle of August helping to maintain steady ripening. Rain that fell in the northern sector just when it was needed, plus fine end-of-season weather, helped the wines retain an edge of freshness. Crozes-Hermitage was hit by hail twice. Potential alcohol levels soared at the end of the season, the build-up of sugars was the biggest problem, and producers who could control picking dates precisely did best. Individual berries were smaller than usual, but the valley's harvests were not far off the 10-year average. Philippe Guigal, ambassador for the Cote-Rotie and Condrieu appellations, said the year surpassed expectations there in both quality and quantity.

• Valley-wide: much drier than 2018's wet spring, with lower-than-usual rainfall every month and groundwater topped up by the previous autumn's rain
• North: very hot and dry, temperature rarely above 40 C, showers in late July and mid-August
• Hail struck Crozes-Hermitage twice
• Soaring sugars made precise picking dates decisive

Decanter's Matt Walls ranked Cote-Rotie at the head of the pack, with Hermitage not far behind. Except for some mighty Hermitage, the finest reds were largely in the far north of the Northern Rhone, while whites tended to do better towards its southern end. Cote-Rotie had a little more rain than most, and it seemed to make all the difference: its top wines are closer to 2017 in style than 2018. Saint-Josephs from the northern part of the appellation also fared well. Further south the heat proved more problematic, giving some unbalanced, overripe wines, especially around Cornas. Among whites, Marsanne and Roussanne performed better than Viognier. It was an awkward year in Condrieu and Saint-Peray, with some good wines but a need to buy with care.

Some reds were rich and opulent, sometimes overripe and alcoholic. Stylistically, 2019 is similar to 2018 but a little fresher and more elegant, with a little more acidity and less weight around the middle. Hot vintages can sometimes obscure the signature of each appellation, but that was not the case in 2019. Walls judged the 2019s a step up from 2018 in both the Southern and Northern Rhone, but a better vintage in the south than the north. Syrah prefers a more moderate climate than Grenache and Mourvedre. For Saint-Joseph, Joel Durand told Inter Rhone the Syrahs were picked fully ripe and "show plenty of freshness, notes of ripe black fruit and the classic Northern Rhone scents of violet and liquorice; but this year they are just that bit more powerful." In Cote-Rotie, Jean-Paul Jamet told Decanter: "You hope for a few vintages like this in your life."