Rhône Vintages

It is always dangerous to generalise about vintages – and nowhere more so than in the Rhône. A vast region, conditions in the north can often be very different to those in the south, and for that reason, most critics separate the two when assessing the merits of individual years. Côte Rôtie in the north, for example, is as close to Burgundy as it is to Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the south – a factor that played to its advantage in 2023 when it escaped a widespread September thunderstorm that impacted much of the Rhône, to produce charming, refreshing wines. 2016 is another example – big and lush wines in the hotter south, but more restrained and classical in the north, which was damper and cooler (as one would generally expect). 2020 was a rare homogeneous year – hot, dry but not excessively so, leading to ripe but fresh wines.