Châteauneuf, Rioja & Chianti 2001
These three regions all enjoyed a ball in the 2001 vintage. Starting with the Rhône Valley, whereas vignerons in the northern appellations had a good vintage, those in the south enjoyed a truly superb growing season. There was warm and dry weather from July right through to September with just a little rain at the end, but nothing like the worrisome levels seen in Germany in 2001. The Grenache harvest kicked off in the middle of September, interrupted by a couple of days of rain after about a week of picking. This soon abated though, and the rest of the harvest continued through September and into October, under still warm and sunny conditions.
The end result was another rich, powerful and structured vintage in 2001, and with similarly rich wines having also been the norm in 1998, these two years bookended a quartet of successful vintages for the region. My own preference was always for the 2001 vintage over 1998, although I also appreciated the rather less strident and more elegant lines of 1999 and 2000. In more recent years, however, my tastes have drifted away from the wines of the Southern Rhône. I accept that in part this is merely my own preferences changing, as I have realised I enjoy styles more defined by their acidity and minerality rather than by texture, impact and alcohol. I would also contend, however, that it is partly a response to a stylistic shift within the region; many of the wines made in this appellation having turned towards a turbocharged character too glossy, slick, concentrated and alcoholic for my tastes. Partly this is perhaps driven by climate, but partly also the chase for high scores.
I thus came back to these wines with a great sense of uncertainty, but I found that fifteen years has tempered their character. This was a strong line-up, with old favourite Château de Beaucastel showing very well indeed, although the wines of Domaine de Vieux Télégraphe and one or two others were not far behind.
