The Perrin family, southern Rhône
Matt Walls completes his expert overview of the 2019 vintage with buying advice for the southern Rhône releases. The year was hot and dry, but with some very good wines to be found – a year for taking informed advice, or sticking to producers you know. And following extensive tastings for Decanter Premium, Matt selects 50 of his favourite reds, whites and rosés
Some winemakers I spoke to in the southern Rhône put the 2019s on a par with the stunning 2016s and 2010s. After tasting more than 1,300 wines across the region, I’m not sure I’d agree. In 2016 it was hard to find a bad wine; even indifferent winemakers had good wines thrust upon them by the perfect growing season. The 2019 vintage isn’t like that. There are many unbalanced wines, but it’s a vintage that presented talented vignerons with a window of opportunity; those with good terroir and the means to react quickly and judiciously have made some phenomenal wines. So I would not describe 2019 as a ‘great vintage’; it’s a vintage of localised greatness.
In both the southern and the northern Rhône, the 2019s are a definite step up from the 2018s. But 2019 is a better vintage in the south than the north.
Heat extremes
So how hot was it, exactly? Well, on 28 June 2019, the temperature in Gallargues-le-Montueux between Nîmes and Montpellier hit 45.9°C, a new record for France. It was also exceptionally dry throughout the southern Rhône, with barely any rainfall during the summer months. Hot and sunny weather is to be welcomed of course – grapes need to ripen – but nobody would hope for conditions like those.
Inevitably, there are many unbalanced wines, with low acidity, excessive alcohol and jammy or raisined flavours. But there are also some delicious, rich, vivid wines that are well worth buying.
Star appellations
Châteauneuf-du-Pape has a preternatural ability to cope with climatic extremes, and it is undoubtedly the best-performing appellation this year. The best wines are hugely powerful, with velvety tannins and great vitality. Gigondas had another very good year, as did other fresh terroirs such as Vinsobres and the northern reaches of the southern Rhône. It’s a less exciting year for Vacqueyras; too many wines have thick, leathery tannins. Often this is down to overextraction – a common miscalculation this year throughout the region.
White wines often excel in cooler vintages such as 2014. But I was surprised at the quality of many of the whites this year – they have a surprising intensity for such a hot year. Again, it’s Châteauneuf that leads the pack, with good-value options in white Vacqueyras, Cairanne and Lirac.
Apart from some select Châteauneufs, the whites should be drunk straight away, and enjoyed for their youthful vigour and exotic fruit. When it comes to the reds, it’s hard to generalise. Many will be at their best when young. But the top Châteauneuf reds will age for decades.
The 2019 vintage will always be remembered for its heat, but it’s not the whole story. As the years roll on, some wines will age quickly, but others will surprise and delight for many years to come.
Around the regions Châteauneuf-du-Pape
‘A lot of tannin, a lot of colour, a lot of alcohol, but very fresh,’ says Jean-Paul Daumen at Domaine de la Vieille Julienne, of the 2019 vintage. This is a year that has a lot of everything, in fact, but when it’s in balance, the results are highly impressive. It’s not a year of hugely structured wines like 2010, or effortlessly balanced ones like 2016, but 2019 is exceptional in its own way, combining elegance with power.
One reason that Châteauneuf excelled over neighbouring appellations in this year is that it enjoyed two small rainfalls on 15 July and 15 August, helping to keep ripening on track. ‘The summer was incredible, beautiful, just perfect for Mourvèdre,’ says César Perrin at Château de Beaucastel. This grape variety performed magnificently in 2019, and the Grenache was notably dark and tannic. The wines that did less well often shared the same problems: excessive alcohol, overripe flavours and a lack of freshness.
Lovers of white Châteauneuf-du-Pape will find lots to enjoy this year – there are plenty of fresh and lively wines, considering the intense climatic conditions. Most will be best when young. For the reds, this is a vintage that will be delicious in the first four or five years, but I suspect it will close down for several years after that. When the wines resurface and their vivacious early fruits have receded, some won’t be able to hide their high alcohol levels quite so well. But those that found the right balance will age for decades.
Key producers in 2019: Château de Beaucastel, Château La Nerthe, Clos des Papes, Domaine de Cristia, Le Clos du Caillou, Le Vieux Donjon
Gigondas, Vacqueyras & Beaumes de Venise
This is a structured, concentrated, rich vintage for Gigondas. Like the whole of the southern Rhône, the wines do occasionally
suffer from high alcohol and overripeness, but there is still a lot to choose from.
Vacqueyras is a hot, early-ripening appellation, and much of the southern part has dry, free-draining soils. The resulting wines are very tannic indeed, and the more basic bottlings are sometimes astringent. But they are largely better than the forgettable 2018s. The very best have freshness and vibrancy to balance the weight and concentration, and a handful will be long-lived. Most, though, will never blossom into particularly elegant wines, so better to enjoy them young.
It’s not a brilliant year for Beaumes de Venise either, at least in red. It’s a very ripe year, high in alcohol and often quite clunky – with a few notable exceptions that offer great value for money. The sweet Muscats are better: rich and vivid.
Key producers in 2019: Château de Saint Cosme, Domaine de Longue Toque, Domaine des Bosquets, Domaine du Terme, Domaine Le Sang des Cailloux, Moulin de la Gardette
Rasteau, Cairanne & Vinsobres
Overextraction is a common problem in Rasteau too this year, which is particularly regrettable since it’s avoidable. The result is a lot of very burly, unfriendly tannins. Some wines will come round in time – many I tasted were only part-way through barrel maturation, after all, so will further soften before bottling. But for those who’ve met the challenges of the vintage successfully, 2019 was a very good year.
In Cairanne, it’s a very opulent vintage, with flowing, liqueur fruit flavours. They are only rarely jammy or raisined, but even the best wines have a warming potency.
White wines, which can be picked earlier without having to wait for the same degree of phenolic ripeness as the reds, are more consistent. They are ripe and expressive with purity of expression.
Naturally fresher terroirs – such as Vinsobres – are a good place to look for balanced wines this year. The rich, ripe fruit benefits from the edgier acidity and salinity that this terroir provides.
Key producers in 2019: Domaine Alary, Domaine Chaume-Arnaud, Domaine des Amadieu, Domaine La Luminaille, Domaine les Grands Bois, Domaine Roche
Lirac & Tavel
Climatic conditions on the west and east banks were broadly similar in 2019, and the Gard appellations (west) display a similarly ripe, opulent style to their neighbours over the river in the Vaucluse. Winemakers with old vines who adapted their approach to the season made concentrated, elegant wines that will offer great value for money.
There are some very good whites and rosés in Lirac this year, plump yet fresh. The Tavel producers I spoke to were surprised at how successful the vintage was, given the circumstances, though I would still drink them young rather than be tempted to age them this year.
Key producers in 2019: Château d’Aqueria, Château de Montfaucon, Domaine Coudoulis, Domaine la Lôyane, Les Vignobles Assemat