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Northern Rhône 2019 overview

Alistair Cooper
Alistair Cooper MW

After last week's wallow in the southern Rhône, we head north – to find it not that much cooler. See this guide to our substantial coverage of Rhône 2019. Above, Alistair Cooper MW takes a break from tasting in the St-Joseph vineyards.

Monday, 30 November 2020
Alistair Cooper MW in the vineyards of St-Joseph

The 2019 vintage in the northern Rhône can be considered a paradoxical year of extremes. As in the southern Rhône, the defining feature of the vintage was the exceptionally hot and dry growing season. However, the resulting wines often show great freshness and precision – especially in Côte Rôtie, which dazzled me with its supreme quality.

Largely, weather...