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Rhône 2010 En Primeur
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The ideal weather conditions in The Rhone Valley during the 2010 growing season have once again produced a stunning vintage. The warm days and cool nights, without excessive heat and rain, nurtured and produced extremely healthy grapes that were close to perfection. Without the summer temperature extremes, 2010 was a return to a more ‘traditional’ vintage.
The resulting wines have intense concentration, yet with high acidity, giving freshness and finesse. The only downside to this magnificent harvest is that production is vastly reduced in the South, with up to 40% of Grenache lost to coulure (poor fruit set), although this has clearly been a contributing factor to the concentration of the juice.
Comparisons could be drawn with both 2007 and 2009, but without the baking sunshine of these previous vintages, the 2010s have linear acidity, complexity and more elegance. In summary, it is an outstanding vintage. Read More
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Vintage Report
NORTH – Balance and Freshness
After a cold and icy winter with patches of snowfall from December through to March, April and May were cool and wet, bringing the onset of coulure. June and July brought hot sunshine, and a much welcome cooler August ensured that the grapes retained acidity. September and October were dry and sunny, with rainfall towards the end of September, which refreshed the vines. Without the excessive heat approaching harvest time, growers were able to pick late, waiting for full phenolic ripeness. The resulting wines are elegant and perfectly balanced, and the higher acidity levels not only add freshness, but will allow greater complexity from late maturation.
SOUTH – Small crop, high concentration
Snow fell three times between January and March, however the icy conditions of the winter months killed off many of the harmful insects that plague the vineyards in the spring & summer. The heavy snowfall ensured that water seeped into the soil, replenishing the water reservoir. April was fine but cool, and the start of May was dull & wet. Flowering started in early June, however alternating warm southerly winds and a cool mistral caused considerable coulure on the Grenache vines in particular, which resulted in a small crop with small bunches. Warm, dry and windy conditions without excess heat allowed a disease-free summer. The cool nights throughout July, August & September produced thick skinned berries with good concentration and high acidity. The harvest started around mid- September and finished during the first few days of October under blue skies & warm sunshine.
