Northern Rhône: A First
Look at the 2019s

BY JOSH RAYNOLDS | MAY 14, 2020While my
late-winter visit to the northern Rhône focused primarily on tasting the 2017s and
bottled 2018s, I also had a chance to try a good number of 2019s. Like 2018,
2019 was a hot and dry year, but the wines look extremely promising and show
an uncanny blend of depth and vivacity.

I arrived in the
northern Rhône
at the end of February and worked for the first two weeks of March, then
departed on Friday the 13th, just a day before COVID-19 travel restrictions
began. It was good timing in many ways, not only because I was able to sample a
good number of 2019s in producers’ cellars, all of which had finished their
malolactic fermentations, but I also made it home safely and without any
inconveniences.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1589464979893-Some+of+the+most+complex+and+age-worthy+wines+in+the+world+come+from+the+granitic+soils+of+the+Hermitage+hill_copy.jpg"> Some of the most complex and age-worthy wines in the world come from the granitic soils of the Hermitage hill. 

A First Look at
2019

What follows is my
first look at the young 2019s. Readers should consider my scores for these wines highly provisional and subject to small – I hope only minor – revisions
when I revisit them on my next trip, whenever that might happen. Still, 2019 is
clearly a vintage of extremely high quality and marks the fifth straight
stellar year for the region. A number of producers who aren’t prone to
hyperbole told me they think 2019 and 2015 are the most impressive of this
recent run of great years, but for different reasons. It’s rare to find real
freshness and detail in wines from a year that was as hot and rain-bereft as
2019, but paradoxically, that’s indeed the case.

Two thousand
nineteen endured an
abnormally hot and dry growing season by historical standards (though fairly
typical now, by current measures) that started off with pockets of spring hail
and frost but nothing so major as to precipitate a short crop. The hot, dry
summer that followed definitely induced some angst among the growers, who noted
that it was critical to maintain healthy vine canopies to protect the grapes
from the heat and sun. Fortunately, for those making such a viticultural move,
there was basically no rain during the summer, meaning that mildew that might
have formed under the canopies was a non-issue. Also, while it was definitely
hot, temperatures were not excessive. Well-timed and beneficial rains in late
August and early September helped freshen the vineyards and keep acidity levels
sound.

There was a
healthy crop load in most appellations except for the hail-ravaged southern
sector of Crozes-Hermitage, which saw many of its vineyards (and apricot and
peach trees) completely decimated on June 15. The storm only lasted about 20
minutes, but the hailstones were the size of tennis balls and winds were clocked
at up to 60 kilometers per hour. The fruit loss in some spots was total, and
most of the producers I visited who have vines in the area, especially at
Chassis, said they lost at least 50% of their fruit.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1589465097895-FRANCK%7E2.JPG"> Franck Balthazar owns a number of&nbsp;choice parcels&nbsp;of in Cornas and makes some of the&nbsp;most elegant wines in the appellation. 

A Lot of
Grapes, but Not Always Much Juice

A major issue across
the region was high skin-to-juice ratios because of the thicker-than-normal
skins of the grapes (courtesy of the weather), which was the opposite of 2018,
another hot year but one where the plump berries almost universally gave up a
healthy amount of juice. That meant winemakers had to be careful with their
pressing, many of them said, so as not to extract too much from those grapes
and, as a consequence, give the juice too much skin tannin impact. Fortunately,
almost every serious producer in the northern Rhône today, as elsewhere in the world, now
possesses modern equipment that allows for gentle pressing. In 2019, that was a
huge blessing. Another positive, in my opinion, is that the perfect ripeness
that was achieved allowed many producers to increase their use of whole
clusters, thanks to the fully lignified stems. That practice helps to add
aromatic complexity to the wines and, while it can raise pH levels, no grower I
visited told me they were fearful that higher stem inclusion would cause a
negative effect (meaning diminished energy) on the fermenting juice.

As I noted
earlier, the 2019s are still at quite an early stage of their development, but
based on what I tasted, I’m confident enough to make what I hope is an educated
guess as to how they’re going to turn out. It’ll be fun to see how right or wrong I was
later this year (fingers crossed).<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1589465135264-Guillaume+pulls+samples+of+his+2019s+in+his+family%27s+Clusel-Roch+cellar_copy.jpg"> Guillaume&nbsp;Clusel&nbsp;pulls samples of his 2019s in his family's Clusel-Roch cellar. 

2018: The Odd
Man Out?

My strong
suspicion is that the 2019 vintage is going to be getting some serious hype, much
of it well deserved, which will likely put its 2018 siblings in the shade, and
2017 as well. That could create some real buying opportunities, as the
spotlight is trained hard on the shiny new (if excellent) thing that is 2019.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1589465168548-Sampling+the+2019s+with+Bernard+Faurie+in+his+tiny+cellar+in+Tournon._copy.jpg"> Sampling the 2019s with Bernard Faurie in his tiny cellar in Tournon. 

And a Few
Unbottled 2018s….

In addition to the
2019s, I also had an opportunity to taste a number of 2018s that had not yet
been bottled as of my February/March 2020 visit. For ease of reference, I have
included my summary of the vintage, as published in my previous article,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/power-and-energy-the-2018-and-2017-northern-rhones-apr-2020">Power
and Energy: The 2018 and 2017 Northern Rhônes</a>.

Two thousand eighteen was an up-and-down vintage for growers in the
northern Rhône. The year got off to good start, with a wet winter that
replenished groundwater reserves, on-time flowering and cool weather that
allowed for slow, steady maturation. Unfortunately, heavy June rains in the
southern sector, particularly at Cornas, brought on mildew, which resulted in
crop loss in some sites. At the end of June, the weather took a sharp turn to
sunny, dry and hot conditions, which accelerated ripening.

Because
of the kick-started ripening in July and the hot weather that followed, many producers
opted, or were forced, to pick their fruit on the early side, at the beginning
of September and in hot weather. A few of the producers I visited mentioned
that in 2018 phenological ripeness in many cases wasn’t fully attained until
the fruit reached about 14.5% potential alcohol, while in the past, it was
generally achieved when the grapes hit anywhere from 12.5% to 13% potential
alcohol.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1589465199103-St%C3%A9phane+Montez%2C+who+represents+the+tenth+generation+of+his+family+in+Saint+Michel-sur-Rh%C3%B4ne+gives+his+thoughts+on+the+2019+and+2018+vintages_copy.png"> Stéphane Montez, who represents the tenth generation of his family in Saint Michel-sur-Rhône gives his thoughts on the 2019 and 2018 vintages. 

There
was the obvious danger of dropping acidity levels and rising pHs, and, as many
vignerons pointed out, the fruit components of the wines’ aromatic and flavor
profiles, while energetic in character, do lean toward more dark character than
red, even in Côte-Rôtie. Yields were generally healthy across the region,
especially in Côte-Rôtie and in the northern sector of Saint-Joseph, where
quantities were robust and sometimes even on the high side, which also likely
contributes to the wines’ energy. Still, based on what I saw during my
extensive cellar visits during the first two weeks of March, roasted qualities and
flabby textures were rarely to be found, which was a pleasant surprise.

Thick
skins meant healthy tannins, possibly even excessive, if growers didn’t keep an
eye on their vine canopies. Those tannins have given the wines good structure,
which should help them age well, even if the wines’ juiciness will make them
deceptively approachable, which is by no means a bad thing. I imagine that
plenty of wine lovers will enjoy the 2018s pretty much right out of the gate,
but in most cases, they are definitely worthy of patience, even just a little. I generally found more vibrancy to the 2018s compared
to their 2017 siblings, and more weight than the 2016s (which, by the way, are
starting to show their elegant side more and more lately). In 2018, a number of
producers who use whole clusters upped the percentages, as the heat ensured
ripe stems, thus mitigating the possibility of too much green character in the
final wines. Those stems, numerous producers pointed out, help to maintain
freshness, not to mention bringing greater aromatic complexity. I’m seeing more
and more producers, especially the younger generation, making increased use of
whole clusters, and it’s a trend that I can happily get behind.

I tasted all of these wines in the producers’ cellars during
my late February and early March 2020 trip to the region.<hr>You Might Also Enjoy<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/power-and-energy-the-2018-and-2017-northern-rhones-apr-2020">Power and Energy: The 2018 and 2017 Northern Rhônes</a>, Josh Raynolds, April 2020 <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/northern-rhone-2016-and-2017-reds-sep-2019">Northern Rhône 2016 and 2017 Reds: From a Whisper to a Scream</a>, Josh Raynolds, September 2019 <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

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