2022 Southern Rhône Vintage

Across the Rhone Valley, winter and spring were particularly mild and very dry, with exceptional rainfall deficits, and vine maturity ran around twenty days ahead of 2021 in many sectors. In Chateauneuf-du-Pape, bud break was of average earliness after a dry, fairly cool winter, then only 50 mm of rain fell from March to May against a usual 150 mm. In the southern half, bud break came in early April, 8 to 10 days later than 2021, before high temperatures sped up growth; flowering came in perfect conditions from 10 May in the earliest sectors, and by 30 June the vines were 10 days ahead, close to 2020 and 2018. Southern growers were tested by drought through most of the growing cycle, and the ultra-dry, hot summer was hard on the vines in the north as in the south. In Chateauneuf-du-Pape, only two summer rains, at the end of June and in mid-August, brought 30 to 70 mm depending on the sector. The appellation's own vintage report compared the season's rainfall deficit to 2003, 2017 and 2019, and temperatures stayed above seasonal norms from bud break to harvest. Storms carrying hail crossed the area around 15 August and hit some Chateauneuf-du-Pape sectors to varying degrees, before the Mistral saved the health of the grapes. Hail also fell at the end of August in Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Beaumes-de-Venise and Vacqueyras, and the usually early Calavon zone received only 130 mm of rain and ended up slower than the better-watered Ventoux. Across the valley, the mid-August and September rains let the vines recover and the grapes keep ripening. Picking started early: in some very early sectors, notably in the Gard, whites and roses were picked from 11 August, and 22 August was the start date for many southern operators. In Chateauneuf-du-Pape, some white parcels were picked from 17 August and the first Syrah around 23 August, and the harvest stretched over more than two months. Many growers picked Carignan and Mourvedre at the same time as Syrah, when usually they come two to three weeks later. Despite the early start, the harvest did not end until early October. Chateauneuf-du-Pape yields were low. Separately, ICV consultant Tristan Perchoc estimated yields 20 to 25 percent below the 10-year average in non-irrigated vineyards and 30 to 40 percent down in unwatered, hail-hit ones.

• Chateauneuf-du-Pape: 50 mm of rain from March to May against a usual 150 mm; rainfall deficit comparable to 2003, 2017 and 2019
• South: bud break in early April, flowering from 10 May in the earliest sectors, vines 10 days ahead by 30 June
• Hail around 15 August in parts of Chateauneuf-du-Pape; end-of-August hail there and in Beaumes-de-Venise and Vacqueyras
• Harvest: from 11 August in early Gard sectors, 22 August for many southern operators, ending in early October

In Ventoux, maturity came later, "certainly due to the influence of the mountain" in the words of co-president Samuel Montgermont; vine health was excellent with no trace of disease, and the last September rain helped bring the grapes to optimal phenolic maturity. In Gigondas, the 2022 harvest surprisingly exceeded volume expectations, and co-president Louis Barruol found a good tannic structure and a good juice to skin ratio: "It is a beautiful vintage, even very beautiful." In Costieres de Nimes, volumes were within the five-year average and the whites were harvested before the August rainfall; co-president Etienne Maffre expected small Syrah berries to give balance, while wines from Grenache will be lighter. In Rasteau, Syrah fermentations were gentle, and co-president Frederic Lavau expected tannins that will need time to mellow. Tavel's Thomas Giubbi described great aromatic quality and a surprising freshness, and in the Luberon, Joel Bouscarle said fears over the extreme drought faded once growers saw the grapes, calling 2022 "unquestionably a very fine vintage, even an excellent one".

• Ventoux: later maturity, excellent vine health
• Gigondas: volumes surprisingly above expectations; good tannic structure
• Costieres de Nimes: volumes within the five-year average; whites picked before the August rain
• Luberon: extreme drought, then "a very fine vintage, even an excellent one"

The Chateauneuf-du-Pape appellation's own vintage report summed up 2022 as an extremely early harvest, low yields and fine wine quality, "an out-of-the-ordinary vintage, where each parcel expressed itself differently" (translated), and noted that some judge it among the best of the last decade. The harvest needed close attention to ripeness parcel by parcel, to control potential alcohol and anticipate quality tannins. Across the Rhone Valley, Inter Rhone called 2022 one of the best vintages of the last five years, particularly excellent for reds with magnificent colour and structure, and overlapping ripeness between varieties let some blending start at fermentation. Perchoc reported very good anthocyanin levels, similar to 2017, and credited the August rains with restarting photosynthesis and ripening. Bush-trained Carignan and Mourvedre plantings, many set in the 1980s and notably around Chateauneuf-du-Pape, stood up better to the drought, and a little cryptoblabes appeared in hail-struck areas and some botrytis on the most heavily loaded parcels. Vineyards were disease-free in the south as in the north, with berries lighter than normal on average.

• Chateauneuf-du-Pape's own vintage report: an extremely early harvest, low yields and fine wine quality
• Inter Rhone, valley-wide: one of the best vintages of the last five years, particularly excellent for reds
• Very good anthocyanin levels, similar to 2017
• Bush-trained Carignan and Mourvedre plantings, many set in the 1980s, stood up better to the drought