Keith in the cellar. Photo by Terry Sutherland.

I recently returned from two weeks in the Rhône Valley, and I am still playing catch up. There were so many things to digest along the way – new vintage assessments, strengthening our producer relationships, and finding new partner producers. Let’s begin with new vintages! Almost everything I tasted from the 2022 vintage was in bottle. This vintage was marked by drought and heat intensity during the growing season. Reds were more successful than whites. High-quality wines were produced with loads of concentration, powerful but sweet tannic structure and fresh but more lusty fruit flavors. Akin to the 2019 vintage, these generally felt more powerful and most of the best examples will age beautifully for years to come. In contrast, the overall alcohol levels were a half to full degree lower. Very promising, especially in the Northern Rhône, and it gave those wines the more classic edge I desire. The Northern Rhône overall felt stronger but the classic southern growing regions of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Gigondas hit many home runs for earlier drinking and some age-worthy wines.

The 2023 vintage was also a hot vintage, but there was more rainfall during the growing season, especially in the Northern Rhône. A later summer heat spike pushed the wines into ripeness. The wines in both the north and south have concentration, but there is more fresh fruit flavors. In the north, alcohol levels dropped a bit more from ultra lush vintages like 2019. I love the acid balance for many of the wines, and this to me has a more approachable vibe that will enable more youthful drinking. I also love the acid/tannin balance and many of the top wines should evolve with freshness and elegance that will promote longevity.

The 2024 vintage had a very complicated growing season for both the Northern and Southern Rhône Valleys. There was a lot of rain during the early part of the growing season, and it carried into the summer. There was a ton of mildew pressure and the battle to keep oidium at bay was a fierce fight. Through strict selection from most of our producers, I saw wines that showed lovely fruit with softer tannins, even lower alcohol levels. The overall impression is hard to define just yet, but I really enjoyed what I was tasting out of tank and barrel. Probably won’t be a benchmark vintage, there was still so much pleasure to find. I look forward to seeing more when the wines progress into their next stages of development over the next several months.

The next goal of the trip was to check in with many of our direct relationship producers. In the south, I had the pleasure of visiting Château de Montfaucon in Lirac, Moulin de la Gardette in Gigondas, Domaine Cecile Chassagne also in Gigondas, Domaine d’Abrigeon in Buisson, Château Gigognan in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and Domaine Roche in Cairanne. In the north, I saw Domaine Barge in Côte-Rôtie, Julien Pilon near Condrieu, Domaine Farge in St-Joseph and Clos de la Bonnette in Condrieu. So many new wines coming in from all of these producers over the next six or so months, but there are many great offerings in store right now. I’ll talk about those individual experiences more over the coming few weeks.

One of the big points of this trip was to attend the Découvertes en Vallée du Rhône and the Printemps de Châteauneuf-du-Pape. These two wine fairs gave me the opportunity to taste more broadly across the categories. The Découvertes is an excellent tasting that runs four days: two in the south in Avignon; one day in Mercurol inside the Crozes-Hermitage appellation highlighting the producers in the southern part of the Northern Rhône; and then finally in Ampuis, where the producers from Côte-Rôtie, Condrieu, and the northern part of the appellation have their moment to shine. I tasted over a hundred wines each day with iconic producers, new relationships, and old friends. So many highlights. I saw Domaine de la Ganse, Domaine de l’Amandine, Saint Cosme, Jamet, Stephane Ogier, Guigal, and Chapoutier. What an experience! And one of the best ways to survey the vintages and overall styles of each unique region.

Finally, I finished my trip back in Avignon at the Printemps de Châteauneuf-du-Pape. This three-day event was in the village of Châteauneuf. Consumer-led and mostly visited by locals, this grand event featured over a hundred producers from the region showcasing their wines. Tasters could run through the lineups of their favorite producers and then take home bottles or cases of their star wines. There were amazing food stalls just outside the tasting with local purveyors where I tasted one of the best classic hams I have ever tried. Aside from the great wines though, one of my favorite personal moments was a cheese tasting featuring my favorite cheese of all time–Comte. Though produced in the Jura region, this is still one of the best overall cheeses to enjoy with both red and white wines alike.

A highlight reel of wines in stock that were also on my trip:

2019 Château de Montfaucon "Baron Louis" Lirac $24.99 96DC

2022 Baron de Montfaucon Cotes du Rhone Blanc $17.99

2022 Domaine Roche Cairanne $16.99

2019 Chateau Gigognan “Clos du Roi” Chateauneuf du Pape $34.99 95WE

2023 Domaine d’Abrigeon “Coquelicot” Grenache Vin de France Rouge $19.99

2022 Domaine d’Abrigeon “Petit Champ” Cotes du Rhone $24.99

2022 Domaine Cecile Chassagne Gigondas $19.99

2021 Moulin de la Gardette “Cuvee Ventabren” Gigondas $39.99

2023 Julien Pilon “Le Bruit des Vagues” Collines Rhodannienes Blanc $19.99

2022 Julien Pilon “Lieu-dit Vernon” Condrieu $79.99

2023 Guy Farge “Boquet de Syrah” Ardeche Rouge $16.99