The harvest is in full swing, at the time of writing, in the southern Rhone Valley – it will be over by the time you read this – and the growers are very happy. “I have rarely seen so fine and healthy grapes,” says Bernard Duseigneur at Domaine Duseigneur, a domain with vineyards on both sides of the river, in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Lirac and Côtes du Rhône Laudun.
The grapes are very small and concentrated with high sugar levels. It has been a dry and hot summer in southern Rhône without a drop of rain in two and a half months. In addition the mistral wind increases the sugar concentration in the grapes. We also tasted the young 2016 at the Domaine Montirius in Vacqueyras and we can confirm that this will be a great vintage.
