2019 Southern Rhône Vintage

2019 was a much drier year than 2018 across the Rhone Valley, with lower-than-usual rainfall every month, but groundwater had been fully replenished by heavy rain the previous autumn and February and March were mild. In Chateauneuf-du-Pape, 460 mm of autumn and winter rain gave the soils good water reserves, then spring rainfall was a normal 96 mm after 280 mm in 2018. April and May were moderately cool, with fast and then suddenly slow growth that can trigger coulure, though this did not happen in 2019 apart from a few isolated plots. The Southern Rhone as a whole was swelteringly hot and very dry. In Chateauneuf-du-Pape the growing season brought only 158 mm of rain, against 530 mm in 2018, 230 mm in 2016 and 185 mm in 2017, and 7 in every 10 days topped 30 C between 1 June and 15 September. A heat wave at the end of June peaked at 44.3 C on 28 June; the foliage held up rather well, as the Rhone corridor was spared the "hair-dryer" effect that hit some southern vineyards. Water shortage kept berries comparatively small, and after the mildew of 2018 growers stayed vigilant, but phytosanitary pressure was almost non-existent. In September 2019 the Gigondas vineyards were still sweltering, with thick, dark, leathery patches where grapes had been burnt by the sun. In Chateauneuf-du-Pape, picking started very early to bring in the early-ripening varieties before they became over-ripe, and 15 mm of rain on 18 September helped Grenache reach phenolic maturity and raised juice yields. Chateauneuf yields were slightly up from average compared with the last few years, while harvests across the valley came in not far off the 10-year average despite smaller berries.

• Valley-wide: drier than 2018 every month, with groundwater topped up by the previous autumn's rain
• Chateauneuf-du-Pape: 158 mm of growing-season rain; heat wave peaking at 44.3 C on 28 June
• Gigondas: sun-burnt patches on the grapes in September 2019
• Chateauneuf-du-Pape: very early start to picking; 15 mm of rain on 18 September helped Grenache ripen

The growers' federation's own report, headlined "Structure, colour, healthy grapes: a superb vintage," describes highly coloured, smooth and generous reds and rich, full whites with a long finish. The reds, essentially Grenache, needed rather long macerations. Grenache wines show ripe fruit, raspberry and crystallised ginger, and the Syrah reds minty notes, with an elegant, mineral, nicely concentrated tannic structure and discreet acidity. Whites express peach, exotic and citrus fruit. The federation says the vintage already shows signs of long ageing potential. Decanter's Walls found the year surprisingly successful here, for both reds and whites, and his list of the best Chateauneuf-du-Pape producers in 2019 names Chateau de Beaucastel, Clos des Papes, Le Clos du Caillou, Domaine de Cristia, Chateau la Nerthe and Le Vieux Donjon.

• Highly coloured, smooth, generous reds; rich, full whites with a long finish
• Grenache reds needed rather long macerations; raspberry and crystallised ginger notes
• Elegant, mineral tannins with discreet acidity

In the southern appellations, reds were already showing intense colour, fruity flavours and good tannic potential, densely coloured and rich in polyphenols, and producers held out for optimum phenolic ripeness in Grenache and Cinsault. Speaking for Rasteau, Frederic Lavau said: "This year is close to being exceptional. We were all quite worried over the summer, but in fact harvest conditions couldn't have been better." He added the wines would be aged very carefully, probably for longer than usual. In Cairanne, Denis Alary said: "Our Grenaches are spectacular, showing a deep, intense colouring." In Lirac, initial tastings showed intense red fruit alongside pronounced black fruit, and Rodolphe de Pins predicted wines "set to be complex with good ageing potential". In Ventoux, pH levels were low and acidity better than in 2018.

• Southern appellations: intense colour, fruit and good tannic potential
• Rasteau: careful and probably longer ageing ahead
• Cairanne: deeply coloured Grenache
• Lirac: intense red and black fruit; Ventoux: low pH and better acidity than 2018

Decanter's Matt Walls rated the Southern Rhone 4.5/5, against 4/5 for the north, and called 2019 a better vintage in the south than the north. Grenache and Mourvedre love to bask in the sun, while Syrah prefers a more moderate climate. Outside Chateauneuf-du-Pape, results were mixed: some excellent wines, others with unbalanced alcohol or tough tannins. Some southern winemakers put the 2019s on a par with 2016 and 2010; after tasting over 1,300 wines, Walls was not sure he would agree, calling 2019 "a vintage of localised greatness" where talented growers with good terroir made some phenomenal wines. He had feared a rerun of 2003 before tasting, but found the wines powerful and ripe, and a step up from 2018.

• Decanter: Southern Rhone 4.5/5, Northern Rhone 4/5
• Mixed results outside Chateauneuf-du-Pape: unbalanced alcohol or tough tannins in some wines
• Walls: "a vintage of localised greatness", and unsure it matches 2016 or 2010