2020 Northern Rhône Vintage

Across the Rhône Valley, 2020 was a sunny vintage but not a scorching one: a rainy autumn in 2019 restored water reserves, and a mild, dry winter brought early bud break. The Northern Rhône saw few weather incidents, apart from certain plots that suffered water shortage, which held back ripening at the start of summer, particularly in the south-east of the northern sector. The season was very dry. Less than 300 mm of rain fell at Domaine Christophe Pichon from January, half the 2019 figure, and at Delas Frères rainfall from January to 23 September totalled only 223 mm, beating the record low of 2003. François Villard said the vines had never looked so fine as on 20 July, before the great heat arrived. July brought some welcome storms, then August was very dry, without the heatwave episodes of 2019, which preserved acidity. At Domaine du Tunnel, a few rains at the end of August unblocked ripening. Harvest came early, with whites picked first in August and reds from the first days of September, on average 7 to 10 days ahead of 2019, and the vines were in excellent health. At Delas Frères, heat and water stress left very uneven ripening at the end of the cycle, with no fewer than 28 days between the first and last grapes reaching the cellar. Inter Rhône called the northern harvest lovely but short of usual yields, and Michel Chapoutier also expected lower yields, while yields at Domaine Christophe Pichon and volumes at Domaine Aléofane were comparable to 2019.

• Valley-wide: sunny but not scorching, with early bud break after a mild, dry winter
• North: water shortage on certain plots held back ripening early in the summer
• Very dry: 223 mm of rain January to 23 September at Delas Frères, and a very dry August without 2019's heatwaves
• Early harvest: whites in August, reds from early September, 7 to 10 days ahead of 2019

Further north, harvests were early, starting around the first week of September. David Duclaux, co-president of the Côte-Rôtie interprofessional section, called the Côte-Rôtie wines very elegant and very fine, with red and black fruit aromas, "whereas one would expect more ripeness due to summer heat", and added: "We are in an unprecedented string of 6 great vintages in Côte-Rôtie. We are blessed by the gods, even if the yields are not there." At Domaine Georges Vernay, this was the third August harvest, after 2003 and 1947, on average 15 days ahead, and ripening was uneven and very early on the slopes of Condrieu and Côte-Rôtie. At Domaine Combier in Saint-Joseph, picking came very early, at the start of September; harvests on 1 September are rare in Saint-Joseph. Natacha Chave of Domaine Aléofane found some ripening blockages on poor hillside sites, more in Saint-Joseph than in Crozes-Hermitage, where she expected more juice on the whites, notably Marsanne. At the Cave de Tain l'Hermitage, director Xavier Gomart said: "In some tanks, we find freshness that may have lacked in recent years."

Inter Rhône headed its northern report "Elegance and finesse in the North", and Terre de Vins headlined its harvest round-up "2020 devrait être grand" (2020 should be great). Freshness was the recurring theme. Acidity was fine on both Syrah and Viognier at Domaine François Villard, the highest on Viognier in about ten years, probably thanks to cool nights, and François Villard said the vintage could not be called solar (translated). At Domaine Christophe Pichon, alcohol came in lower than usual, and Corentin Pichon expected 2020 to be more balanced than 2019, which had little acidity and more structure and alcohol. Jacques Grange of Delas Frères found alcohol under control and the balance fine, even if acidity was low, with soft tannins and no greenness. Michel Chapoutier said: "Nous sommes face au millésime du siècle" ("We are facing the vintage of the century", translated), citing grapes of great freshness in a hot, dry year he likened to 2003.