Rhône 2010 -lille høst, men superb kvalitet

Gammel vinstok i Châteauneuf du Pape, hvor den gror i sten.

With the 2010 harvest completed, France's Rhône Valley now has back-to-back potentially outstanding vintages in both the northern and southern portions of the valley, following the difficult 2008 season. The only downside consumers may have to deal with is low quantities of wine. "Historically low yields," says Louis Michel from Vieux Donjon, Châterauneuf du Pape.

In Northern Rhône, April and May were cool and wet, leading to coulure, or shatter, and a small flowering. From there, the summer months brought a hot July, offset by a more moderate August that helped the grapes to ripen well while retaining acidity. September temperatures shot up again, though, and the vines threatened to shut down their ripening due to the heat and drought, when a freshening rain fell between Sept. 20 and 25, allowing the grapes to hang into early October.

"I had less than 20 hectoliters per hectare on my old vineyards and only a little more in younger vines," says Emmannuel Darnaud.

White wines also look strong in 2010, though some growers reported more uneven ripening between their young- and old-vine parcels. "I think because the young vines didn’t have as much coulure as the older vines, their ripening was a bit behind," says Bernard Faurie. "But we had maturity in the end, about 14.5 pct alc."

Séguret i Rhône-dalen. Mourchon ligger på toppen af bjerget.

In the Southern Rhône, vintners were equally enthusiastic about the potential for 2010. Harvest was pushed late as the southern stretch of the valley experienced a similar weather pattern, marked by a cool and windy start that lead to drastically reduced yields, primarily with Grenache, the lead red grape in the south.

"2010 will be an exceptional vintage for the quality, which could be the highest ever made," says Louis Michel, vigneron in Châteauneuf du Pape. "But I’m not so glad for the quantity, which could be the lowest ever made."

Many growers waited into October to pick, following heavy rain that fell Sept. 8 and additional light rain Sept. 24. But the region’s natural defense against the rain—the mistral winds—came blowing through, drying up excess moisture and allowing the grapes to hang through an Indian summer, ideal for slow ripening. Growers throughout the vast Southern Rhône were extremely pleased.