Our Rhône Collection:

 

Northern Rhône

Domaine Rostaing & Domaine Ogier      

Southern Rhône

Domaine Brunel & Domaine Charvin        Domaine Chapoutier

Domaine Versino & Domaine Cayron       Domaine Font de Michelle   

Château Beaucastel

 

Older Vintages

 

Vintage Report

 

A Winegrower’s Vintage

The best vignerons have produced some excellent quality wines, in spite of the challenging vintage conditions.

The 2008 vintage in the Rhône Valley really was unique. Growers are often reluctant to be drawn into vintage comparisons, yet never more so than with the 2008: ‘2008 is best compared with… 2008!’ However it was universally agreed that it was a ‘difficult’ vintage in the region, with continual rainfall and the threat of diseases and mildew ever present, but the more experienced growers adapted to the conditions and rose to the challenge admirably.

At one point during the summer, there were nervous whispers that the 2008 vintage would be a repeat of the disastrous 2002 vintage as rain continued to pour down, but thankfully the turning point came in mid-September when the rain stopped and the sunshine appeared. Those who chose to pick immediately in fear of rot and botrytis made the wrong decision and the resulting wines are dilute and often unripe. However those who hung on to wait for ripeness were rewarded with some wonderful wines with characteristic aromatics and freshness as a result of the cool summer. The growing conditions presented a need for triage and the result is a much smaller vintage, so it has not been possible to produce some of the special cuvées and single vineyard wines. Fortunately this does mean that the best quality fruit usually designated for these premium wines has instead gone into the annual cuvées.

The North

The rain continued to fall in the North during May, July, August and into early September and brought disease and mildew in many cases. It was only on 12th September that there was finally a break in the weather pattern, and the sunshine saved the vintage. Those who were brave enough to risk the possibility of further rain and leave the grapes to hang on the vine to ripen fully were the success stories.

The South

Location was key in the south, with over double the quantity of rain falling north of Châteauneuf du Pape compared to the south. On the Bedarrides side of Châteauneuf, 90mm of rain fell in 1 month, compared to 235mm of rain falling on the Orange side. Hail came next on September 11th, but this had the effect of concentrating the fruit that managed to hang on to the vines. The rain stopped on September 12th and was replaced by sunny weather for the rest of the harvest. Again, leaving the grapes to mature and harvesting late was a necessity.
The best vignerons have produced some excellent quality wines, in spite of the challenging vintage conditions, and the 2008 vintage should definitely not be overlooked. As Jean-Paul Versino put it so succinctly, the problem with 2008 is that it follows on from the outstanding 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 vintages, so we have been truly spoilt! As well as having aromatics, forward fruit, freshness and elegance, the 2008s will be approachable earlier in their lives than recent vintages and will bring much pleasure over the next decade. We have also managed to secure some extra parcels of some of the outstanding 2007 wines, which we have pleasure in offering alongside the 2008s.