2013 was an excellent year for Syrah in the Rhône
Valley and a vintage of generally very low yields for the older Grenache vines.
The quality is overall showing itself as high particularly in the Northern Rhône,
and the yields are very low both in the North and South, yet the prices look
mainly unchanged since the last year. We maintain that the Rhône valley is still
one of the few wine regions offering continued, superb value for money. The 2013 Rhône wines offer a perfect hunting
ground for everyday drinking wines as well as some serious regional superstars.
Most of the wines featured in this offer will be on show at the Bancroft Fine
Wine December tasting on the 3rd of December. We strongly encourage you
to come and taste them with us then.
NORTHERN RHÔNE
2013 proves itself to be an excellent vintage in the Northern
Rhône. High quality is well spread across the
appellations and the northern reds exhibit great substance and charm. Most of
the outstanding winemakers that we have visited on our recent buying trip
compared this Syrah vintage to 2010 in terms of understated elegance and
precisely defined aromatics. Indeed, the best wines exhibit beautiful deep
colour and a delicious aromatic profile of ripe yet cool, black and blue fruit.
This fruit is similarly restrained but is perhaps more open now than in 2010
resulting in inviting wines with upfront charm as well as dense core substance.
There is an underlining fresh acidity found in the 2013 northern reds that combined
with finely textured, ripe tannins, forms a good structure and promises good
ageing potential. A prolonged growing season and relatively cool summer has ensured
that 2013 is a terroir vintage in which Syrah displays great sense of
provenance and place - the main feature of the 2013 vintage.
The white wines from the 2013 northern Rhône vintage
are similarly fine and attractive. They offer great balance and high aromatic
definition of ripe, elegant fruit that ranges from greengage to yellow flashed
peaches. Minerals and a vivid acidity provides exceptional freshness and
vibrant energy ensuring that the 2013 whites will age well. The only downside
of this exciting vintage is the reduced quantity of the wines. Average
production in 2013 was down by 25%.
SOUTHERN RHÔNE
2013 was an excellent year for Southern Rhône
whites. Moderate temperatures in the summer months have preserved high levels
of acidity and the best wines are beautifully balanced with a high
concentration of yellow stoned and citrus fruit. The whites are fairly consistent in style offering a smooth
silky texture, great aromatic precision and pronounced minerality. The
character of the 2013 Southern Rhône red wines has been greatly influenced
by the excellent quality of this year’s Syrah plus the miniscule yields of the older
Grenache vines. Coulure has reduced Grenache yields to less than 10hl/ha in
some of the vineyards and most of the 100% Grenache cuvées were not made in 2013. The
quality of late picked Grenache was Burgundian in texture with perfume and
delicacy replacing benchmark muscle and power. However, the purists who managed
to preserve the usual, high percentages of Grenache in the final blends ended
up with only avery small quantity of wine. We can expect pure Grenache cuvées to
be in very short supply. The best of the 2013 red wines are well balanced and
concentrated with refreshingly moderate levels of alcohol. Aromatic, ripe fruit
is well defined and measured, backed by considerable backbone structure with
ripe tannins and lively acidity. There is something very Northern in the style
of many 2013 Southern reds. The fruit profile is generally darker thanks to
higher proportion of Syrah and Mourvedre, with black fruit often spiced by
white pepper and earthy, meaty notes.
South meets North in a glass.
GROWING SEASON
2013 was a slow, prolonged season resulting in the very late
harvest that finished three weeks later than usual. Some Grenache vineyards in
Châteauneuf du Pape were harvested as late as in the first week of November.
The growing conditions were very challenging right from the beginning. Cold and
wet winter weather with more than 400mm of rain from November to March
continued well into the spring months slowing vegetative growth of the vines.
Bud burst was very late, delayed by wet weather conditions with low
temperatures. Crucially, uneven flowering occurred three weeks later than
average at the end of May - beginning of June in cold and wet conditions,
resulting in lower quantity of fruit overall. Temperatures as low as 8ºC
during this period with humid air resulted in Coulure. This has had a
particularly bad affect on the older Grenache vines with reported yield in
these vineyards being reduced by up to 50% on the previous year. Hard work on the vines was needed and
extensive green harvesting in June and July was crucial for the future quality
of Syrah and Mourvedre. The weather finally improved in the stable but not hot
summer months of July and August.
However this time was insufficient for plants to accelerate growth and
recover for the lost time. Acidity levels remained quite high while
measurements of sugar in the grapes were worryingly low in August causing
concern with growers. Finally, the 2013 vintage was saved by warm and stable
weather in September that lasted until mid-October with only occasional
episodes of rain. In this period the grapes advanced fast in terms of sugar
ripeness and managed to obtain optimum ripeness in skins. For the whites the
harvest started on the 10th September in Châteauneuf du Pape, the 12th
of September in Lirac and the 15th of September in Crozes Hermitage. For the
reds, harvest commenced in the third week of September in Southern Rhône
starting with Syrah. In the north it began on the 13th September in St Joseph, on
the 20th September in Cornas and on the 9th October in the Côte
Rotie. 2013 was in many ways an unusual vintage and in some of the southern
vineyards Grenache was picked later than the Mourvedre. The harvested crop was
in a healthy condition and as usual, rigorous selection process was needed to
ensure the high quality of the berries and juice. With cool summer months
essential acidity levels were well preserved with relatively low pH achieved in
the whites of around 3.2 and in between 3.35 and 3.45 for the reds.
Refreshingly moderate alcohol levels were reported in the south with final blends
rarely exceeding 14.5%. In the north they ranged between 12.7% and 14% - classic
readings reminiscent more of older vintages from the 1970’S and 1980’S than
other more recent blockbuster years: wonderful and refreshing.
Compiled by Neb Gusic, Director, Bancroft Wines
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