Focus on Vacqueyras: Latest Vintages and Top Producers

BY NICOLAS GREINACHER | OCTOBER 24, 2024

I 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.

Welcome to Vacqueyras.

The 2023 Growing Season

Following 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.

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.”