Northern Rhône 2015

Our judges arrived with high expectations of this line-up of Syrahs from an excellent vintage. They found a superb selection of wines, many of which are already drinking well

- REPORT MATT WALLS

It’s an easy sequence to remember: '05, '10, '15, '20. All were great vintages in the northern Rhône, but some – patricularly 2005 and 2010 – have been agonisingly slow to mature.

This enjoyable tasting of nearly 50 wines from 2015 showed that the vintage deserves the hype that it received on release. What’s more, most of them are opening up and drinking well already. The preceding winter was rainy, topping up the water table. Spring was damp, too, and warm; the season got off to an early start. All of that water proved crucial, as 2015 turned out to be the hottest year on record after 2003. Yields were generous and the grapes were in perfect condition at harvest.

Despite the summer heat, the style of 2015 can be described as remarkably classic. Fiona Hayes said: ‘I was expecting a warmer profile, but overall they were very well balanced... with a lot of freshness.’

The 2015 Crozes-Hermitage flight was remarkably strong. ‘You often think that Crozes-Hermitage doesn’t age well, but this showed that it does,’ said Hayes. At 10 years of age, none were over the hill. Even better were the St-Josephs, which yielded three Outstanding wines. ‘A really strong flight overall,’ according to Gearoid Devaney MS. ‘Some really good expressions of Syrah - freshness, elegance and good balance.’

The Côte-Rôtie flight, though impressive, was more mixed in style; when the oak was in balance, there were some thrilling wines to enjoy. While the 2015 Côte-Rôties are largely ready now, the best Hermitage wines need a little longer – but the quality there is even higher. Certain styles proved divisive. More delicate wines, such as Domaine Belle’s Hermitage and Pierre-Jean Villa’s Côte-Rôtie Fongeant, were scored at 95 or 96 points by one or two judges but not all. Most contentious was Jean-Michel Stéphan’s atypical, carbonic-maceration Côte-Rôtie So’Brune, which was both adored and not-so adored.