2022-rhone-vintage

2022 Rhône Vintage — JLL Assessment

Summary

A very good vintage in the Northern Rhone, saved by critical mid-August rain that averted a repeat of the jam-thick 2003. The South is more variable — extreme drought until mid-August rain, with an August 15 tornado devastating parts of Chateauneuf-du-Pape’s La Crau vineyard. Cornas is “certainly very successful pretty much across the board.” Northern whites are firmly rich but well structured. Southern reds can be high degree. JLL’s 50th vintage covered.

JLL on the North: “The early signs are of a very good 2022 vintage in the North, degrees not high, unlike 2019… Cornas is certainly very successful pretty much across the board.”

Northern Rhone Overview

Growing season: Heading for another 2003-style extreme heat vintage until mid-August rain came just in time. This timely rain thwarted what would have been jam-thick wines with severe tannins. Degrees are not high, unlike 2019.

Character: Wines are well filled, balanced, and show good length. Cornas leads — wines are immediately likeable and spontaneous, with flair. Cote-Rotie is also promising. Whites are firmly rich, perhaps low in acidity, but well structured.

Key appellation notes:

• Cornas: The standout. “Very successful pretty much across the board, the wines immediately likeable, spontaneous… well filled, balanced, and show good length, even a little flair.” JLL tasted approximately 30 wines.
• Cote-Rotie: Promising, from a smaller number of wines tasted. Big, structured, concentrated.
• Hermitage: Structured but accessible; Burgundian elegance from some parcels (Peleat), southern warmth from others (Le Meal).
• Crozes-Hermitage: Concentrated from low yields (~half of normal in some areas). 2022 and 2023 produced similarly reduced yields that concentrated the wines.

Southern Rhone Overview

Growing season: Extreme drought until mid-August rain, which served to inflate the grapes and lower degrees. The harvest was in some cases tired, and picking had to be done quickly with rot looming. An August 15 tornado wrecked a path across Chateauneuf-du-Pape’s La Crau vineyard, with Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe especially hard hit.

Character: More variable than the successful North. Blockages in ripening and some uneven wines alongside the successes. Lower-end wines are more varied than noble terroir wines. Negociants struggled to find good sources — always a vintage indicator. Whites are low-acidity but attractive. Reds can be high degree. Tavel is successful and largely full-bodied.

Key zones per Michel Tardieu:

• Best areas: Dentelles-Seguret zone, Ventoux, Beaumes-de-Venise — areas that received well-timed rain, less drought stress
• Complicated areas: Plan de Dieu, low areas of Cairanne and Rasteau
• Standouts: Upper Rasteau (above/behind the village), Roaix, east side of Cairanne village
• Important insight: “Rasteau in big vintages is too much, but in a difficult year it is very good — it is one of the best crus of the Southern Rhone.”

Key Themes

1. Mid-August rain was salvation in the North: Without it, 2022 would have been another 2003. The rain reset the growing season and allowed balanced ripeness.
2. August 15 tornado devastated Chateauneuf: The storm wrecked La Crau vineyard, hitting Vieux Telegraphe especially hard. A reminder of the increasing frequency of extreme weather events.
3. Cornas is the Northern star: JLL’s most enthusiastic assessment is for Cornas — spontaneous, likeable, flair. The appellation continues its ascent.
4. Terroir hierarchy proved itself in the South: Noble terroir wines outperformed the lower end. Higher-altitude, well-drained sites with timely rain (Dentelles, Ventoux, upper Rasteau) excelled.
5. Rasteau’s paradox: Tardieu’s observation that Rasteau is best in difficult vintages (the heat is too much in great years) is a valuable insight for buying strategy.
6. JLL’s 50th vintage: A milestone — JLL has covered every Northern Rhone vintage from 1973 onward.

Sources

• sources/articles/JLL/rhone_vintage_reports.json — “2022 Northern Rhone” and “2022 Southern Rhone” entries (John Livingstone-Learmonth, drinkRhone.com)