Rhône 2017: Full en primeur report

Northern Rhône 2017 [breakout buttontext1="4/5"] Concentrated, long-lived red wines, generally very good to excellent in quality, very ripe but not jammy. Apart from a clutch of top performers, whites can lack precision and focus. [/breakout] Southern Rhône 2017 [breakout buttontext1="4/5"] A hot, dry year has resulted in a very good to excellent vintage of powerful, structured red wines, though sometimes overripe or with leathery tannins. Whites tend towards richness over freshness. [/breakout] [subscriber-content] ‘It’s a very good vintage, with flashes of greatness at both poles’ When we look back in ten years time, 2017 won’t be held in quite the same esteem as the exceptional 2015 and 2016 Rhône vintages - in quality terms it’s simply too erratic. But here and now you’re not buying a vintage, you’re buying individual wines, and the best 2017s hit similar heights to the two previous years, albeit in a very different style. The 2017s all share the impact of a parched summer, which has led to a rather inconsistent vintage. Quick link: See all Rhône 2017 en primeur tasting notes & scores ‘It was dry, there was no rain,’ says Laurence Féraud at Domaine de Pegau in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. ‘The berries were really small, more like blackcurrants. Beautiful bunches, but so small.’ The drought impacted yields to some degree, but not as much as the coulure (poor fruit-set), hitting Grenache hard and, to a lesser extent, Viognier. Continue reading below Rhône 2017 en primeur reports: Top scoring Rhône 2017 wines Northern Rhône report Southern Rhône report Best value Rhône 2017 wines Winemakers blessed with old vines on the right terroir have been able to turn the dry conditions and low yields to their advantage, making concentrated, powerful, ageworthy wines. Inevitably, however, some wines veer towards overripeness and tough tannins. There are some good whites in both north and south, but these are relatively scarce this year - whether it’s better in the north or south is hard to call. It’s a very good vintage, with flashes of greatness at both poles, but generally speaking, 2017 is a vintage in which to buy top red wines from the best domaines. Best Producers in 2017: [breakout] Northern Rhône Domaine Les 4 Vents Domaine Les Bruyères M Chapoutier Domaine JL Chave Domaine Clape Domaine Combier Domaine Guy Farge Ferraton Père & Fils Domaine Pierre Gaillard Domaine Gonon Domaine Bernard Gripa E Guigal Domaine Jamet Domaine Gaylord Machon Domaine Stéphane Ogier Domaine Christophe Pichon Domaine Rostaing Domaine Marc Sorrel Domaine François Villard Domaine Alain Voge Southern Rhône Domaine Alary Domaine Beau Mistral Domaine des Bernardins Domaine Brusset Domaine des Carabiniers Domaine Combe Julière Le Clos du Caillou Domaine de L'Espigouette Moulin de La Gardette Château de Montfaucon Château Rayas Domaine Roger Sabon Domaine Le Sang de Cailloux Château St Roch Domaine Vallot [/breakout] [/subscriber-content] You might also like: Burgundy 2017: Full en primeur report

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Rhône 2017: Full en primeur report

Northern Rhône 2017

Concentrated, long-lived red wines, generally very good to excellent in quality, very ripe but not jammy. Apart from a clutch of top performers, whites can lack precision and focus.

Southern Rhône 2017

A hot, dry year has resulted in a very good to excellent vintage of powerful, structured red wines, though sometimes overripe or with leathery tannins. Whites tend towards richness over freshness.

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Burgundy 2017: Full en primeur report

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