2019 Rhône Valley Vintage

After the very wet spring of 2018, 2019 was much drier across the valley, with lower-than-usual rainfall recorded every month. Groundwater reserves had been fully replenished by heavy rain in autumn 2018, and mild weather in February and March helped the fruit develop well. The Southern Rhone had a swelteringly hot, very dry year, and the north a very hot, dry growing season where the heat spikes were less extreme, with the temperature rarely topping 40 C. In the north, showers at the end of July and the middle of August helped maintain steady ripening, and Cote-Rotie had a little more rain than most. Crozes-Hermitage was hit by hail twice. The vineyards stood up extraordinarily well to the heat and drought, delivering impeccably healthy grapes, and fine weather through summer and into September brought the fruit to full ripeness, helped by wide swings between day and night temperatures. In the north, Jean-Louis Chave said, "The biggest problem was the build-up of sugars", and with potential alcohol climbing fast at the end of the season, the producers who could control picking dates precisely did best. Berries were smaller than usual, but the valley's harvest was not far off the 10-year average.

• Whole valley: rainfall below normal every month, after heavy autumn 2018 rain had fully replenished groundwater
• Northern Rhone: heat spikes rarely above 40 C, with showers at the end of July and in mid August
• Southern Rhone: swelteringly hot and very dry
• Whole valley: smaller berries than usual, but harvest volumes not far off the 10-year average

Decanter rated the Northern Rhone 4/5, and Walls judged 2019 a better vintage in the south than the north, reasoning that Grenache and Mourvedre love to bask in the sun while Syrah prefers a more moderate climate. In the south the year was surprisingly successful, especially in Chateauneuf-du-Pape for both reds and whites; elsewhere results were mixed, with some excellent wines and others showing unbalanced alcohol or tough tannins. In the north, Cote-Rotie leads the pack with Hermitage not far behind. Except for some mighty Hermitage, the finest northern reds came from the far north of the Northern Rhone, while the whites did better towards its southern end. Saint-Joseph from the northern part of the appellation also fared well, but further south the heat caused more trouble, with some unbalanced, overripe wines, especially around Cornas. Marsanne and Roussanne performed better than Viognier, and it was an awkward year in Condrieu and Saint-Peray.

• Southern Rhone: strongest in Chateauneuf-du-Pape, reds and whites; mixed elsewhere
• Northern Rhone: Cote-Rotie first, Hermitage close behind; top Cote-Rotie closer in style to 2017 than 2018
• Cornas: the heat was more of a problem, with some unbalanced, overripe wines
• Condrieu and Saint-Peray: an awkward year, with some good wines but a need to buy with care

After tasting more than 1,300 wines, Decanter's Matt Walls called 2019 a powerful, ripe vintage and a step up from 2018 in both the north and the south, but he stopped short of calling it a great vintage, describing it instead as a vintage of "localised greatness". Walking the vineyards of Gigondas in September 2019, he saw grapes burnt by the sun and feared a rerun of 2003, yet the wines proved in places thrillingly good. Some Southern Rhone winemakers put the 2019s on a par with 2016 and 2010; Walls was not sure he agreed, noting many unbalanced wines. In the north the wines are similar in style to 2018 but a little fresher and more elegant, with a little more acidity. Growers left a denser leaf canopy than usual to shade the grapes, which allowed softer extraction without harsh tannins, and southern reds are densely coloured and rich in polyphenols. Michel Chapoutier, President of Inter Rhone, summed it up: "2019 has been challenging in terms of climate, but has delivered a great vintage."

• A step up from 2018 in both halves; a vintage of localised greatness rather than a uniformly great one
• Northern Rhone: like 2018 in style but a little fresher and more elegant
• Southern Rhone: reds with intense colour, fruit and good tannic potential
• Decanter's Northern Rhone wine of the vintage: Domaine Jamet, Cote Brune, Cote-Rotie