Focus on Vacqueyras: Latest Vintages and Top
Producers

BY NICOLAS GREINACHER |&nbsp;OCTOBER 24, 2024I was eager
to return to Vacqueyras this year to sample the first 2023s and review all the
bottled 2022s. Due to the inconsistent 2021s, Vacqueyras didn’t stand out during
last year’s visit. The appellation clearly struggled to keep pace with its neighbors,
Gigondas and Châteauneuf-du-Pape. In contrast, 2022 delivered higher quality
and more consistency.

Despite its
vast size of 1,477 hectares (3,650 acres) in the Southern Rhône and over 110
individual producers plus four major cooperatives, Vacqueyras remains under the
radar for many wine aficionados, who often struggle to name even five of its
wineries. For this reason, later in this article, I highlight the current standout
producers of this underrated region. Before that, I explore the 2023 growing
season and its wines in more detail, followed by a final assessment of the
2022s and a brief market update.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1729778003768-Welcome+to+Vacqueyras._copy.jpg">Welcome to Vacqueyras. The 2023 Growing SeasonFollowing
harvest, October 2022 brought warm and dry conditions, with temperatures
ranging from 15 to 26°C (59 to 79°F). Rain was scarce until the end of the
month when up to 70mm of precipitation fell. November saw a significant
rainfall increase, with around 200mm recorded and the first frost arriving on
November 25th. By mid-December, some wineries began winter pruning activities.
December closed the year with an additional 170mm of rain, bringing the total
for the last three months of 2022 to 440mm. This ample rainfall helped
replenish soils with water, setting a foundation for the upcoming growth cycle.

Calendar
year 2023 started on a cooler note. The second half of January experienced
temperatures hovering around 0°C (32°F), with cold conditions persisting into
the first half of February, where some vineyards reported lows of minus 2°C (28°F).
By the second half of February, early spring signs emerged, as temperatures
occasionally exceeded 15°C (59°F), while rainfall remained limited. As the soil
warmed, saps began to rise, and the first buds appeared throughout the
Vacqueyras vineyards.

A mild March
with only 36mm of rainfall saw the first leaves growing by the end of the
month, and bud burst for white varieties began at the end of April. By mid-May,
flowering was underway, although Mistral winds caused occasional disruptions. Eric
Bouletin of Roucas Toumba recalls the “dusty” spring of 2023 due to that scarce
rainfall. Between late May and the end of June, 150mm of rain in combination
with temperatures above 30°C (86°F) raised fungal disease pressure. "We
saw signs of downy mildew directly on the grape clusters, without first
affecting the leaves, and some grape clusters dried out due to mildew,
especially on the red and white Grenache," Christine Saurel of Domaine
Montirius remembers.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1729778026277-Domaine+Montirius+from+left+to+right+Manon%2C+Justine%2C+Eric+and+Christine+Saurel._copy.jpg">The Domaine Montirius team. From left to right: Manon, Justine, Eric and Christine Saurel. 

Accentuated
by light Mistral winds, July and August were marked by hot and dry weather,
with temperatures soaring above 40°C (104°F) in mid-August. While older vines
with established root systems were able to resist these arid conditions better,
young vines suffered brutally, as Frédéri Férigoule of Le Sang des Cailloux
recalls: “All my young vines were scorched, dropping all their leaves. I declassified
the grapes of all my young vines and produced a Vin de France to maintain
quality levels for my Vacqueyras.” 

A small but
welcome 15mm dose of rain arrived at the end of August. Many wineries began
harvesting white varieties around the 20th, with some starting on red varieties
by the end of the month. Daytime temperatures were scorching hot throughout
harvest. Several winemakers reported picking only in the morning hours from 7am
until around 1pm for white varieties, with a similar pattern for the reds, with
the exception of potentially resuming late in the afternoon. 

By late
September, the Vacqueyras harvest was largely complete. Sorting was imperative
in 2023 to separate dried and, in some cases, even burnt berries following the
August heatwave from healthy ones. Prolonged exposure to high temperatures
during the growing season also resulted in lower YAN (yeast available nitrogen)
levels, which is why, in many cases, fermentations took longer and occasionally
stopped during winter, only restarting in the spring of 2024 with rising air
temperatures. Hence, 2023 was a challenging year for Vacqueyras winemakers, not
just throughout the growing season but also in the cellar. Yet, that didn’t
prevent the appellations leading producers from crafting high quality wines.

For the
reds, 2023 is shaping up to be a good vintage, with upfront and juicy profiles
allowing for earlier drinking compared to the more structured and concentrated
2022. Two thousand twenty-three shows higher consistency than in 2021, similar
to that of 2022. I also liked many of the 2023 whites, a solar vintage that captures
sufficient freshness, largely from early harvesting practices. That said, 2023
Vacqueyras whites will show their best during the first two to four years after
release, so don’t lock them up for more than that. There are some exceptions,
but they are rare.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1729778053846-Eric+Bouletin+of+Roucas+Toumba+is+one+of+the+most+dedicated+winemakers+in+the+Southern+Rh%C3%B4ne._copy.jpg">Eric Bouletin of Roucas Toumba is one of the most dedicated winemakers in the Southern Rhône. The 2022s from BottleAfter the
bumpy ride in 2021, 2022 sits in between good and very good for the reds of
Vacqueyras. The wines are often concentrated, ripe and savory and provide
enough structure to age in bottle. &nbsp;What
holds 2022 back from being considered a standout Vacqueyras vintage, on par
with exceptional years like 2020 or 2016, is that while the wines are
typically well-structured, concentrated, and complex, they often lack that
final touch of finesse and ambition. Nonetheless, the finest 2022 Vacqueyras reds
can be added to your bucket list. As for the whites, I have to taste more samples
for a general assessment, but there are a few gems that reflect the ripeness of
the vintage yet neatly capture freshness to maintain balance.Vacqueyras: Top ProducersTo bring readers
up to speed with some of the finest names in Vacqueyras, I put together a
shortlist of top producers with key descriptors of their wines and styles. Readers
can also find more in-depth information on these producers in the respective
profiles in this article as well as in last year’s <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/vacqueyras-new-releases-walking-the-underdog-nov-2023">Vacqueyras
New Releases: Walking the Underdog</a>.

·&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/wines?term=Arnoux%20et%20Fils">Arnoux
et Fils</a> – Savory, Concentrated, Traditional

·&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/wines?term=Ch%C3%A2teau+des+Tours&amp;filters=&amp;page=1">Château
des Tours</a> – Benchmark, Alluring, Age-worthy

·&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/wines?term=Domaine+Montirius&amp;filters=&amp;page=1">Domaine
Montirius</a> – Unoaked, Refreshing, Leafy

·&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/wines?term=Domaine+de+la+Ligi%C3%A8re&amp;filters=&amp;page=1">Domaine
de la Ligière</a> – Concentrated, Refined, Age-worthy

·&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/wines?term=Domaine+La+Garrigue&amp;filters=&amp;page=1">Domaine
La Garrigue</a> – Spicy, Expressive, Refined

·&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/wines?term=Domaine+Le+Clos+des+Cazaux&amp;filters=&amp;page=1">Domaine
Le Clos des Cazaux</a> – Age-worthy, Structured, Classic

·&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/wines?term=Domaine+Le+Sang+des+Cailloux&amp;filters=&amp;page=1">Domaine
Le Sang des Cailloux</a> – Elegant, Refreshing, Complex

·&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/wines?term=Domaine+Santa+Duc&amp;filters=&amp;page=1">Domaine
Santa Duc</a> – Polished, Athletic, Elegant

·&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/wines?term=La+Ferme+du+Mont&amp;filters=&amp;page=1">La
Ferme du Mont</a> – Expressive, Multifaceted, Concentrated

·&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/wines?term=Roucas+Toumba&amp;filters=&amp;page=1">Roucas
Toumba</a> – Savory, Concentrated, Classic<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1729778081381-Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ri+F%C3%A9rigoule+of+Le+Sang+des+Cailloux+with+his+wife+Marion._copy.jpg">Frédéri Férigoule of Le Sang des Cailloux with his wife Marion. Market UpdateProducers I
met with in Vacqueyras didn’t shy away from acknowledging tough market
conditions. Year-to-date sales have dropped significantly, in some cases by
more than 30% compared to the same period last year. This decline is also
reflected in bulk prices, with the cost of Vacqueyras plummeting from €550 per 100 hectoliters to €350 over the past year. Ironically, the declassified
Vin de France 2023 Vacqueyras from Frédéri Férigoules’ was one of his best-selling
wines of summer 2024.

Meanwhile, consumers can buy a 2023 Côtes-du-Rhône for just €1.89 (about $2) per 0.75-liter bottle, (minimum six-bottle purchase) in a leading supermarket chain. There’s a collective hope here that better days will return. For now, the reality is grim: declining wine consumption and rising costs for energy as well as labor show no signs of fading. On top of that, the fact that Grenache in a warm Mediterranean climate results in wines with naturally higher alcohol levels does not help in this situation as many consumers become more and more cautious about drinking these styles. Undoubtedly, it’s a challenging time to be a red wine producer in Vacqueyras and broadly in the Southern Rhône.

I tasted
all the wines from this report in Vacqueyras during a trip in September 2024.© 2024, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or re-distributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright, but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism.<hr> You Might Also Enjoy<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/vacqueyras-new-releases-walking-the-underdog-nov-2023">Vacqueyras New Releases: Walking the Underdog</a>, Nicolas Greinacher, November 2023<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/vacqueyras-the-southern-rhone-s-stealth-appellation-feb-2020">Vacqueyras: The Southern Rhône’s Stealth Appellation</a>, Josh Raynolds, February 2020 <div></div><a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/vacqueyras-2016-and-2015-value-and-consistency-nov-2018">Vacqueyras 2016 and 2015: Value and Consistency</a>, Josh Raynolds, November 2018

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