Northern Rhône 2016 and
2017 Reds: From a Whisper to a ScreamBY JOSH RAYNOLDS | SEPTEMBER 04, 2019 The two most
current northern Rhône
vintages, 2017 and 2016, provide a fascinating study in vintage personalities,
with 2017s bringing the thunder and the 2016s offering elegance and even
understatement. Fans of large-scale Syrah are going to love the younger vintage,
while those who seek balance and freshness will have a field day with the 2016s.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1567627561633-1-COVER-Looking+down+on+the+Rh%C3%B4ne+from+the+slope+of+Condrieu.jpg"> Looking down on the Rhône from the slope of Condrieu 

2016: Balance,
Elegance and Precision

From the
beginning, even prior to harvest, it was clear that 2016 would be marked by
elegance far more than power. Now that the wines have had a chance to settle
down and find their footing, that has been confirmed – emphatically so. The
wines show bright acidity thanks to a late, cool start to the growing season
and an equally cool late summer. Beautiful weather marked the lead-up to
harvest and continued into October, which allowed leisurely harvesting of fully
ripe fruit with healthy pH and tannin levels. The resulting wines possess plenty
of depth and more than adequate structure to ensure long, graceful aging curves.
There’s more red fruit character than usual on display, especially when
compared to the 2015s and, especially, the 2017s. These are elegant
wines, not bruisers, and, in many cases, especially from Côte-Rôtie, many come across
as nothing less than Burgundian in style, which the old-timers will tell you is
the quality that made the appellation’s name and reputation in the first place.

A number of
producers – especially those whose wines favor elegance, like Franck Balthazar
– have told me since early on that they believe 2016 deserves to be considered
a top-notch, even great vintage based on freshness and balance. My own
impression, which tracks that assertion, is that the wines, in most cases, will
surprise many of us with their longevity. I also suspect that most of the wines
will never really shut down, much less go through an extended dumb phase or
even a surly adolescence. Ripeness and powerful tannic structure are in no way
a guarantee that a wine will age smoothly. On the contrary, such wines all too
often collapse under their sheer mass, lose whatever freshness they may have
possessed, and reveal roasted, even dull character if left to age for too long.
I’ll be extremely surprised if many 2016s take such a path.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1567627598349-2-Winter+pruning+on+the+slopes+of+Condrieu.jpg"> Winter pruning on the slopes of Condrieu 

2017: Big but Accessible

Two thousand
seventeen was definitely a hot year here, as was the case across western
Europe, and the wines show it. As a group the 2017s display deep-pitched dark
fruit character, palate-coating textures, distinct weight and, in many cases,
powerful tannins. These are clearly opulent wines that will satisfy oenophiles who
look for richness, even opulence, in their Syrah. It should be noted, however,
that only a handful of 2017s possess strict tannins, meaning that in numerous
cases the wines will be enjoyable on the relatively early side. In contrast,
the 2015s are wines that, in most instances, positively demand patience and
are, as a group, in a pretty cranky state right now. Compared to their 2015
siblings, the tannins in the 2017s, which are typically softer in the first
place, tend to wrap gently around and into the ripe fruit, rather than creating
a theoretical shell and contributing overtly chewy texture or hardness. They
also lack the solid and even rigid spine of acidity that supports the 2015s,
which is by no means a bad thing if one lacks cellar space, patience or even a
personal taste for mature Syrah.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1567631924482-image+%2896%29.png"> Clay barrels in the cellar of forward-thinking Domaine Lombard, in Brézème 

Now for the Not-So-Great
News

Unfortunately for
long-time northern Rhône
lovers, the world continues to discover the region’s wines and, unsurprisingly,
prices are steadily rising, even exploding, in response. Dozens of the most
sought-after bottlings, especially those from Côte-Rôtie, Hermitage and Cornas, now command prices
in excess of $100, with an increasing number of wines soaring well past $200
and even higher. On top of that, yields across the region were mostly down in
2016, and in many cases severely so in 2017. It doesn’t take a Nobel Prize–winning
economist to understand that that’s a recipe for disaster when it comes to
finding, much less affording, the most sought-after wines. Happy hunting.

I tasted all of
these wines from bottle starting in late winter through mid-August of 2019.You Might Also Enjoy <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vinous.com/articles/2017-and-2018-northern-rhone-barrels-jul-2019">2017 and 2018 Northern Rhône: Birds of a Feather...with a Difference</a>, Josh Raynolds, July 2019 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vinous.com/articles/2016-northern-rhone-whites-excellent-but-often-scarce-may-2018">2016 Northern Rhône Whites: Excellent but Often Scarce</a>, Josh Raynolds, May 2018 Multimedia:&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://vinous.com/multimedia/josh-raynolds-on-northern-rhone-whites-may-2018">Josh Raynolds on Northern Rhône Whites</a>, Josh Raynolds, May 2018 Multimedia:&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://vinous.com/multimedia/josh-raynolds-on-northern-rhone-reds-apr-2018">Josh Raynolds on Northern Rhône Reds</a>, Josh Raynolds, April 2018<a target="_blank" href="http://vinous.com/articles/2016-vs-2015-northern-rhone-heads-you-win-tails-you-win-apr-2018">2016 vs. 2015 Northern Rhône: Heads You Win, Tails You Win</a>, Josh Raynolds, April 2018<a target="_blank" href="http://vinous.com/articles/northern-rhone-solid-14-reds-and-outstanding-15-whites-jul-2017">Northern Rhône: Solid ’14 Reds and Outstanding ’15 Whites</a>, Josh Raynolds, July 2017

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