After the variable quality experienced in 2011, the Rhône is back on track quality wise in 2012. Yields are down by up to 30% as a result of both the heavy frosts experienced in February and drought in the height of Summer. Overall the fruit has been of a very high quality with good ripeness and decent acidity.

Some rain caused a few vignerons a bit of head scratching during the harvest. Rains were short lived though and were followed by mistral which dried things up quickly. Rains prior to harvest helped balance out Syrah in the southern Rhône and Cornas as they were suffering a little from the heat. The rains helped to plumpen the grapes and prevented them from getting cooked.

Alicante Bouschet leaf in mid November sunlight

Grenache and Mourvèdre performed well across the board in the southern Rhône producing lots of grapes but with a lot less juice than in 2011. Comparisons are being made with 2007.

Michel Gassier of Château de Nages in Costières de Nîmes describes conditions concisely here:

The beginning of spring was wet which was great because winter rains had been scarce and the soil was fully replenished when the warm weather arrived in May. Unlike most of France, we enjoyed a beautiful dry, sunny summer and by end of August, some spots were starting to show water deprivation. A little rain at the beginning of September allowed the ripeness process to conclude its course and harvest started at a normal (a tad late) date.

Overall health of grapes was excellent this vintage, and even spectacular for whites. Sugar levels were moderate (1% less than 2007 or 2010) but the acidity balanced. The wines revealed themselves after long macerations but are showing a beautiful round tannic structure even if aromatically they have yet to tell us everything.

Amy Lillard winemaker and owner of La Gramière experienced similar weather conditions, 30km north west of Chateau de Nages, in Castillon du Gard. Here’s Amy’s personal take on the 2012 vintage which she sees as being good to very good:

The 2012 vintage was characterized by the weather in late 2011 which was very dry. Virtually no rain fell all winter long which put us at a deficit early on. In late January the historically cold temperatures caused some losses of vines, particularly with very old grenache. The spring was humid with frequent light rains which lead to some mildew early on, but there wasn’t significant precipitation to curb the effects of a dry winter. The summer was then hot and dry which lead to small yields. The wines are good to very good, but it won’t be considered a great vintage. Tannins are fairly soft, the wines are fruity and pleasant, but I’ll reserve final judgement for the Spring, once all of the malolactic fermentations are finished and the wines are racked.

The story was different in the northern Rhône. Winter was very cold and windy with lots of frost and spring was wet and the fight against mildew meant lots of hard work in the vines. July and August were nice and hot and the vines ripened well, before picking started in mid September. I’ll post a more detailed account of the 2012 vintage by Ralph Garcin of Domaines Paul Jaboulet Ainé in the next few days.

Here are some other reports on the 2012 Rhône vintage:

Inter Rhone – Rhône Highly Expressive 2012 Vintage : Balance and Harmony
John Livingston Learmonth’s Drink Rhône website – you’ll need to scroll down the page a bit, but it’s worth it as John writes so well and is THE man in the know!
Philippe Cambie – Vision du Millesime 2012 (in French)
Michel Gassier Blog – Initial observations - (also available in French)