There are times when you put a question to a winemaker and he puffs out his cheeks and rubs his chin and you know he’s thinking, ‘Journalists.’ When I ask Promontory’s David Cilli what exactly is meant by ‘interpretation of terroir’, he courteously describes the process of trying to get the wine to reflect the character of the land. But he gives the impression my question was like quizzing Monet on how he got his effects. If you don’t get it, you probably won’t. The character of Promontory, on the day I visit, is quite something. It’s early May and the rain, which has been falling steadily all night, has turned to a lashing downpour that has raindrops bouncing six inches off the windscreen. We’re in a jeep piloted by winegrowing director Cory Empting and since turning off the main road we’ve been climbing steadily through dripping stands of oak with pocket-handkerchief vineyards between them. ‘Shall we stay in the car?’ asks Empting. ‘If we could,’ Will Harlan suggests from the back seat. I’m here with Empting, Cilli and Harlan. Bill Harlan has appeared briefly but I don’t see him again until we sit down to taste. He formally handed over control of Harlan Estate, Promontory, Bond and The Mascot in 2021, appointing 37-year-old Will managing director. Cilli (44) arrived in 2012 and is in charge of vineyard and winemaking at Promontory. Promontory is an 840-acre fastness, a deep valley folded into the foothills of Mount Veeder, on the west side of the Napa Valley. From the highway, you think the looming ridge you’re looking at is the edge of Sonoma. But there’s another ridge beyond and between them this interesting domain. It’s remote, even by Napa standards (contrary to opinion, there are plenty of wild spaces in the county). The ultra-refined French Laundry is a couple of miles away but it might be in Wisconsin for all the relevance it has up here. Bill Harlan had come upon it hiking in the 1980s. ‘I used the Carmelite monastery [we’d passed it on the way up] as a base and just started climbing’. There were no vines but he was intrigued by its seclusion. It might be possible vineland for the Napa project he had in mind. In the end, Harlan Estate was founded less than a mile to the north but for 25 years Harlan kept the idea of that parcel tucked under his hat (he never mentioned it, Will says) before it came on the market in 2007 and he snapped it up. "Vineyards, some a mere half-acre, are etched into towering, wooded hillsides and drop down into cavernous combes dense with oak and fir" The owner – the Harlans don’t reveal who that is – had planted 80-odd acres of Cabernet Sauvignon. It was neglected, the vines overgrown. Trees had been felled and never collected. ‘It was a mess,’ Will says. ‘It looked like a logging operation.’ But it is magnificent. Vineyards, some a mere half-acre, are etched into towering, wooded hillsides and drop down into cavernous combes dense with oak and fir. The whole estate is thickly forested, the vines often shaded on three sides. An old drovers’ road, running through the woods, will suddenly open out on a wide vista of vineyard and scree. Everything is deeply, lushly green in the steadily falling spring rain. The geology of the land is unusual, in that it rests on two distinct fault lines and consists of all three soil types that are found in Napa: volcanic, sedimentary and metamorphic. ‘You get all three in the same soil pit,’ Cilli notes. This, combined with the wild variation in aspect and the microclimate of the valley-within-a-valley, gives credence to Harlan’s claims that this part of Napa is like nowhere else in California. When the celebrated soil scientists Claude and Lydia Bourguignon came, they found the experience ‘novel’. Cilli said he fell in love with Promontory at first sight. It reminded him, in part, of his native Tuscany, but it was the wildness that captivated him, ‘I love that character that you can see in the wines.’ He said it was probably ‘the only project that could keep me in the valley.’ You get the impression none of them can quite believe their luck. ‘It somehow redefined what looks beautiful,’ Will says. It also redefined their ideas of winemaking. He goes on: ‘We were used to control. Harlan in the 1990s was obsessed with organisation and uniformity but Promontory was wild.’ The theme of wildness recurs. Harvest times are key to ‘find a way for it to come through,’ Will says. Empting: ‘Pick too late and you lose the ruggedness.’ Ageing, in the magnificent Howard Backen-designed chai, is all in Stockinger Austrian oak barrels ranging in size from 10,000 to 46,000 litres, for up to 36 months. ‘The fine-yet-tight tannins required longer barrel-ageing but [we] didn’t want the wine to be overpowered by new oak’. It’s a constant process of refinement and improvement – ‘we learn something new each season’. Empting: ‘It has blown every expectation out of the water. We were excited and we were scared. We didn’t know what this beast would be. Our learning curve has been very steep, it remains very steep. At least now we’re starting to get our arms around it but at the beginning, it was like: God, we cannot figure this thing out.” "I found in the 2016 a moment where the various elements come together: the savoury nose, the fine tannins, the weight without heaviness" You have to remember we’re talking about winemaking here, not Wittgenstein. But ‘interpretation of terroir’, if it’s to mean anything at all, should be taken seriously. I’ve seen vineland all over the world – rock-strewn fields in the Andean foothills, rainless Spanish deserts – but I’ve never seen anything like Promontory. Were I to be tasked with bottling the soul of that vineyard, I’d reach for metaphor as well. And so we come to the missing shade of blue. This is the concept propounded by the 18th-century philosopher David Hume, that an idea can be formulated without a previous sensory impression to give rise to it. He asked, Could a shade of blue missing from a spectrum be imagined by an observer? Harlan says (with a smile – he does have a degree in philosophy) that Promontory is the missing shade of red. ‘Until you’ve seen and experienced it, you don’t know that it’s missing. And so for us this was that final piece. The piece that wasn’t there that we had the opportunity to understand and try to translate into the wine.’ The next morning, in gorgeous May sunshine, we gather to taste. It’s almost the same group, though smaller, that did the mighty vertical of Harlan estate from magnum in 2020. Bill Harlan is there (he sweetly thanks the team for allowing him to taste, saying it’s the first full vertical of Promontory he’s ever done), Will, Empting, Cilli and the journalist Elaine Brown. We wonder, at the end, if there is thread that runs through the wines. In my notes the words ‘deceptively light’ recur, as do ‘structure’ and ‘stone’. Reaching for metaphor again, Will Harlan compares the structure of the 2016 to cathedral stone, which has ‘both weight and lightness. It’s intricately carved and light filters through the windows.’ I found in the 2016 a moment where the various elements come together: the savoury nose, the fine tannins, the weight without heaviness. Will Harlan calls this vintage an ‘inflection point’ and notes how the tannins are the ‘main differentiators’. Yes, agrees Cilli, ‘and because of the character of levity and lift, we have to be precise with the tannins.’ The younger vintages have an astonishing latent energy, tannins under tight rein, aromas bursting, the fruit compacted. Brown and I were struck not by the sophistication of these wines but by their honesty. Brown WhatsApped me later. ‘Promontory is the most transparent to place. The wines are impressively well crafted and elegant while still offering an almost wild or primal complex of flavours.’ "The wines are unmistakeably Californian but they are also unlike anything I’ve tasted in Napa" ‘How do we take wine from a wilderness and have sophistication?’ Will asked. It’s a great question – with their resources, the Harlans could do anything they liked with Promontory. After all, they have to make a wine that will please their audience. But this was so unexpected. The tasting revealed a keen focus on the land and the vintage. The difference between the years was often marked – the challenge of 2015 for example showed in the wine – yet we could see that common thread running through, even as the wines increased in elegance. And what of Will’s quest for the missing shade of red? The wines are unmistakeably Californian – that splendid 2017 could come from nowhere else – but they are also unlike anything I’ve tasted in Napa, which is quite a claim, in the world’s most cultivated wine region. Perhaps the last word should go to Bill Harlan, who started the whole thing. He speaks hardly at all during the tasting, his Old Testament face giving little away. At the end of the morning, he talks of his fascination with the ‘ongoing discovery’ of the project. The wines have character, layers and depth, he says, and – by way of praising their authenticity – he notes, ‘You never know what’s coming next.’

Written for Club Oenologique, contributor Adam Lechmere visits California to trace the evolution of Promontory, one of Napa’s most magnificent sites, with a vertical tasting of 14 vintages revealing the wild beauty, elegance and remarkable evolution of its wines.

Written for Club Oenologique, contributor Adam Lechmere visits California to trace the evolution of Promontory, one of Napa’s most magnificent sites.

Wildness captured: tasting 14 vintages of Promontory

Every now and then, the word ‘singularity’ is used to describe a particular wine that stands apart, for whatever reason, from other wines of its type. But just what is singularity, and how can wine express it? Wine writer Tamlyn Currin investigates.

What makes a wine truly singular? Tamlyn Currin explores the rare bottles that defy convention and challenge the rules of the wine world.

Searching for Singularity in wine

Searching for Singularity

The Reynaud wines are the stuff of legend. Utter “Rayas” to a certain crowd and they will swoon. The singular style of this iconic Châteauneuf-du-Pape estate – pale, hauntingly aromatic, almost Burgundian in texture and incredibly long-lived – has a fervent following, a clan of Reynaud obsessives keen to seek out everything that Emmanuel Reynaud touched.  The property’s rustic charm – a far cry from the grandiose buildings of many famous estates – combined with the family’s inclination to shy away from their fame, happier quietly farming their vines, has only fanned the flames. Tucked away in the northern reaches of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Ch. Rayas and its owners are elusive – only making them more sought-after.   There is no shortage of praise for these rare and special wines – whose appeal, given the Reynaud’s minimal-intervention approach, broaches the worlds of fine and natural wine. William Kelley is a loyalist, and is one of several to note how well the property performs in “off-vintages” – where the property’s distinctive profile shines through, above and beyond the vintage and region, revealing their “captivating perfume, sensual textures and eternal youthfulness”. Robert Parker described the 1990 Rayas as “one of the greatest young red wines I have ever tasted”. For Nicolas Grainacher (Vinous), “The substance, finesse and intensity packed into these wines make it hard not to fall in love with them.” Neal Martin (Vinous) perhaps put it most concisely: “God invented wine to drink wines like this.”    The history of the Reynaud empire  In 1880, Albert Reynaud, a notary from Avignon, lost his hearing aged just 45. No longer able to work as a lawyer, he bought an estate in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, in an area called Rayas, where he saw out his days farming vines, apricots and olives. In 1910, his son Louis Reynaud took over running the estate. Louis had studied agriculture in Angers and was particularly interested in viticulture. He uprooted trees to plant new vineyards and bottled the property’s first wine in 1920 – using the name “Rayas”, the name of the forest on their parcel of land. It was the beginning of Rayas as we know it today.  Louis famously added the wording “Premier Grand Cru” to the Rayas labels, a self-pronounced classification of the wine – and notoriously defying the appellation rules (introduced in 1936). Building the property’s reputation and sales, he started expanding the business. Between 1935 and 1938 he bought Ch. des Tours in Vacqueyras, entrusting his son Bertrand with the larger 58-hectare property northeast of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, not far from the town of Orange. Around the same time, he built a new cellar and winery at Rayas, bringing the buildings within the appellation’s boundaries. After the Second World War in 1945, Louis purchased Ch. de Fonsalette, an estate further north of Orange, in Lagarde-Paréol – and, with that, the full suite of Reynaud properties was in place.  By the time Louis passed away in 1978, the Reynaud wines were some of the Rhône’s most famous.  
After his death, his youngest son Jacques took over Rayas and Fonsalette, while Bertrand continued to run Ch. des Tours. With the shift in ownership at Rayas and Fonsalette, quality dipped a little – but soon Jacques was making wines that lived up to the Reynaud name.  The old vines at Rayas, planted on sandy soils, facing north/northeast, surrounded by pine forest, produce wines of exceptional elegance and aromatic finesse, wines with haunting perfume, pale colour and almost Pinot-like delicacy, yet phenomenal persistence and ageability.   Jacques was renowned for being eccentric. A recluse, happiest in the vines and never keen to welcome visitors, he was rumoured to, on occasion, lie in a ditch to avoid journalists or other members of the trade. His aversion to the limelight surely only added to the wines’ allure. He died rather suddenly in 1997, while shoe shopping in Courthézon. Having no children of his own, his nephew Emmanuel – Bertrand’s son, who had been running Ch. des Tours since 1989 – inherited both Rayas and Fonsalette, taking the reins across all three properties.  The transition between Jacques and Emmanuel wasn’t seamless, as Emmanuel renovated the estate and replanted parts of the site, but by the early 2000s quality was once more living up to the Reynaud name. The style has shifted between generations, and while Jacques’s wines were more structured and solid, Emmanuel favoured more sensual, perfumed expressions. Over the last two decades, little has changed across the Reynaud properties – the wines’ mythical status only confirmed with each release. The new generation – Emmanuel’s sons Louis Damien and Benoît – are now continuing the family’s legacy.    The Reynaud philosophy  The approach at Reynaud is old-school – here, tradition reigns. Modern monoculture is not the method – with various crops across the estates, and biodiversity nurtured with swathes of woodland. The vines – all bush vined, many with significant age – are farmed in exactly the way as they’ve always been, organically with minimal inputs, ploughed by horse.  The fruit is all hand-harvested, whole-bunch fermented with indigenous yeast in cement tanks. Since Emmanuel took over, parcels have all been vinified separately. Macerations are gentle, generally under two weeks with a single pump-over a day. Ageing is in large, old oak, with no new wood used anywhere across the properties – indeed the youngest demi-muid or foudre at the estate may well be 30 years in age. Sulphur additions are minimal, with only a small amount at fermentation and a final addition at bottling, with the wines bottled unfined and unfiltered. The method is simplicity at its finest, focused on expressing each site – and the results speak for themselves. The wineries are rustic farm buildings, offering only the basic requirements, with no modern technology employed – and, given the wines produced, not needed.  Grenache is the core of all the Reynaud wines – the grape that thrives in their terroir and is the magic behind Rayas. Beyond Rayas, Cinsault is used to bring elegance and suppleness, while Syrah was long avoided – used only at Ch. de Fonsalette. Louis Reynaud believed the variety belonged in the Northern Rhône, and other than the small portion that made it into the Côtes du Rhône, the rest of the Syrah was sold off in bulk under his reign (often to local restaurants, who used it in their sauces). The Côtes du Rhône Syrah cuvée only introduced under Jacques Reynaud’s tenure, at first sold to the restaurants who had seen its quality in their sauces. There is no Mourvèdre at any of the estates, as Emmanuel Reynaud believed that their soils are too dry for the grape.  The Reynaud wines and estates  The Reynaud family comprises three distinct estates – Rayas, Fonsalette and Ch. des Tours, although Fonsalette doesn’t have its own winery.   Ch. Rayas  Rayas is the original Reynaud estate, purchased in 1880, and takes its name from the climat. In the northern reaches of Châteauneuf-du-Pape lie the 12 hectares of vines, surrounded by 11 hectares of forest. Forget the region’s stereotypical galets roulés or pudding stones, known for their ability to hold heat, Rayas sits on red, iron-rich, sandy soils, over richer clay. The soils are poor and the bush vines planted at low density, with a mere 2,500 vines per hectare – yielding just 10 to 20hl/ha. Significant replanting took place in the 1980s, meaning the vines now average 40 years in age, although there are still some survivors from the 1940s.  The site’s northern exposition combines with the influence of the wooded areas, offering shade and humidity, making for an extended growing season and preserving freshness in the wines. The Reynauds are among the last to harvest, often only picking in October/November, as much as two months after their neighbours. The resulting wines, however, do not speak of intense ripeness – but are all about elegance and finesse.  While Châteauneuf permits 13 red varieties, at Rayas you’ll find only Grenache Noir, with two hectares dedicated to white grapes – Grenache Blanc and Clairette. The Grenache vineyards can be divided into three section: Le Levant, Le Coeur and Le Couchant, each taking its name from its exposure to the sun – respectively as it rises, at its peak and as it sets. Writing for The World of Fine Wine, William Kelley describes the three components of the vineyard thus: “Le Levant is the most floral and ethereal, contributing the wine’s spine; Le Coeur is the most complete, contributing Rayas’s skeleton; and Le Couchant, with its richer, more compote-like fruit tones, brings the fat.”  The fruit is all hand-picked. The Grenache is kept on its stems, the whole bunches crushed before a gentle maceration for maximum two weeks (one pumpover a day) and indigenous-yeast fermentation. The wine is pressed off and aged in old foudre for a little under two years.  The delicacy and finesse of the resulting wine is reminiscent of top Burgundy. Pale in colour, Rayas is deeply aromatic, with haunting floral notes and an ethereal, silken texture that balances the wine’s earthy, savoury intensity. Between 1,200 and 1,500 cases of the flagship Châteauneuf-du-Pape are produced each year. The wines age beautifully and Emmanuel himself recommended waiting 20-25 years before opening a bottle of Rayas to fully experience its evolution.  The white grapes are planted across three parcels in Le Levant, comprising two hectares. The Grenache Blanc was planted in the 1940s, ’50s and ’95, with the Clairette planted in 1986. Fermented in old (80 to 100 years old) foudre, purchased second-hand by Louis Reynaud (Emmanuel’s grandfather), Rayas Blanc is a 50:50 blend of Grenache Blanc and Clairette, aged in old oak for around 11 months. The wine is made in extremely limited volumes, with only 400 or so cases produced each vintage. Rich yet poised, this rare white is immensely fragrant with notes of almond and white flowers, intensely mineral and textured, and can age for at least a decade.  Pignan is sometimes considered a “second wine” at Rayas, but it in fact comes from it own, specific site on the estate, a single two-hectare block surrounded by pine trees on the northern edge of the property with less sandy soils. Also pure Grenache, made in exactly the same way at Rayas, it offers a more immediate and approachable expression of the Rayas style, yet similar perfume, purity and structure – and is still capable of extended ageing. It can, on occasion – and especially in cooler vintages, rival its older sibling, Rayas. Around 650 cases are produced each year.  The Rayas wines are all only released when entering their drinking window, with the reds often only emerging from the estate over a decade after the harvest.  Ch. de Fonsalette  The “latest” addition to the Reynaud galaxy, Ch. de Fonsalette was purchased by Louis Reynaud in 1945. The property is large, covering 120 hectares in total, but with 12 hectares of vines in amongst woodland, farmland and olive groves, north of Orange in Lagarde-Paréol. Today it sits largely within the Côtes du Rhône Villages Massif d’Uchaux appellation (established in 2005), however the wines are all labelled just as Côtes du Rhône. Further north, the microclimate is cooler than at Rayas, and stylistically the wines are more restrained than those of Ch. des Tours, for example, but not as ethereal as those of Rayas.  The soils here are very different to those at Rayas with gravel, sand and red pudding stones. The vineyards are planted to Grenache, Cinsault and Syrah for red grapes, and Grenache Blanc, Clairette and Marsanne for whites. The vines are generally old, with the oldest planted in 1929.  The philosophy in the vineyard and winery is exactly the same as at Rayas – and, as the property doesn’t have a winery of its own, the wines are even made at Rayas. The reds are whole-bunch fermented, with a maximum two-week maceration and one pump-over a day. The wines are aged in a combination of enamel-lined tanks and large, old oak, bottled around a year or so later.   There are three wines in the range at Ch. de Fonsalette. The Côtes du Rhône Rouge is a blend of 50% Grenache, 35% Cinsault and 15% Syrah, the notably high percentage of Cinsault giving the wine particular lift and aromatic finesse – a wine that whispers and draws you in. There is a second red, a Côtes du Rhône Syrah which is 100% Syrah – a structured, dark-fruited wine that offers restrained power and quiet depth. Under Louis Reynaud, this was sold off in bulk, only first bottled under Jacques Reynaud (from 1978) and sold locally, largely to restaurants, before being offered more widely under Emmanuel. The Côtes du Rhône Blanc is a blend of 80% Grenache Blanc, 10% Clairette and 10% Marsanne, producing a textural and complex white with notes of stone fruit and herbs, and a saline undertow.  La Pialade  This wine is a slight anomaly in the Reynaud line-up. Only made in certain vintages, La Pialade Côtes du Rhône is vinified and aged at Rayas, made with declassified parcels from either Rayas or Ch. de Fonsalette. The blend is typically 85% Grenache, 15% Cinsault and 5% Syrah. Produced in tiny volumes, and even rarer given it isn’t made every year, it is often described as an “everyday Rayas” – more open in style, but can match Rayas for its subtlety and delicacy, even if it does not have the same depth.  Ch. des Tours   Purchased by Louis Reynaud in the late 1930s, Ch. des Tours was Emmanuel Reynaud’s home estate – having taken over running the property from his father Bertrand in 1989. As it was entrusted to Bertrand from the beginning, and never managed by Jacques Reynaud, the estate has always stood apart from Ch. Rayas and Ch. de Fonsalette – however all three have fallen under Emmanuel since 1997. Benoît – Emmanuel’s son, who studied oenology in Switzerland – has recently taken the lead at Ch. des Tours, having worked closely alongside his father.  The property gets its name from the towers or tours that frame the château building. Located in Vacqueyras, not far from Orange and northeast of Châteauneuf, it covers 40 hectares, with grains and olives as well as grapes. As it was long run separately, the property has its own winery.  Although the Reynaud philosophy runs through all three estates, the wines at Ch. des Tours are stylistically distinctive, offering more structure, muscle and intensity versus the more subtle, high-toned, perfumed style of Rayas and Fonsalette. The winemaking is largely similar to at Rayas and Fonsalette, with fermentation is concrete and maturation in old oak. Although the red grapes are mostly whole-bunch fermented, this is the only property where small portions are destemmed. The range is more complex at Ch. des Tours with a selection of wines bottled under Ch. des Tours, some under Domaine des Tours and a rosé made under the Parisy label.  There are five wines under the Ch. des Tours label:  Vacqueyras: A blend of 80% Grenache and 20% Syrah, this is a structured and powerful wine made exclusively from the oldest vines on the estate.  Côtes du Rhône Rouge: A blend of 65% Grenache, 20% Syrah and 15% Cinsault, this is a supple, juicy red packed with fruit and spice.   Côtes du Rhône Rouge Grande Réserve: Only made in specific vintages, this is effectively the Vacqueyras declassified when there isn’t sufficient colour – made in 2002, 2014 and 2015.  Côtes du Rhône Blanc: Made in very limited volumes, this white is 100% Grenache Blanc – a floral, textural wine that is worth seeking out.  Côtes du Rhône Blanc Grande Réserve: Only made in certain vintages, this is not a declassified bottling (like its red sibling), but a special bottling of the property’s best Clairette and Grenache Blanc. The 50% Grenache Blanc, 50% Clairette wine was produced in 2003, 2014 and 2015.  The Domaine des Tours label is all sourced from Ch. des Tours however is a slightly separate project, generally offering more accessible wines, almost all labelled as IGP or Vin de Pays. There are four wines under the label:  Vin de Pays de Vaucluse Rouge: This is a deeply expressive field blend of Grenache, Counoise, Syrah, Cinsault, Merlot and a host of other varieties.  Vin de Pays de Vaucluse Merlot: This 100% Merlot comes from the richest, clay soils on the property, producing amore opulent and exuberant wine.  Vin de Pays de Vaucluse Merlot-Syrah: A blend of Merlot and Syrah, which shifts according to the vintage, is a concentrated wine that combines the generosity of Merlot with the spice of Syrah.  Vin de Pays de Vaucluse Clairette: This 100% Clairette is pure and fresh, driven by minerality.  Under its own label is Les Tours Grenache Blanc – a rich, ripe and generous 100% Grenache Blanc full of stone fruit, bottled under the Vaucluse appellation. The last wine from Ch. des Tours is the Parisy rosé, a dry, delicate Grenache/Cinsault Vin de Table designed for everyday drinking. The labels themselves don’t detail the vintage, with this information only visible on the cardboard case.  Which Reynaud wines are made where? Ch. Rayas, Pignan, Ch. de Fonsalette and Pialade are all made at Rayas Ch. des Tours, Domaine des Tours, Les Tours Grenache Blanc and Parisy are all made at Ch. des Tours  Explore all current listings of the Reynaud wines or read more Editorial 

Few wines have the cult status of Rayas – a wine that stands alone in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Here, we offer an essential guide to the wines crafted by the Reynaud family in the Rhône – Rayas, of course, but also those of Ch. de Fonsalette and Ch. des Tours 

Everything you need to know about the wines made by Emmanuel Reynaud – Rayas, Pignan, Chateau de Fonsalette, Chateau and Domaine des Tours, and Parisy  

Guide to Rayas, Fonsalette and Des Tours – the Reynaud wines

Everything you need to know about Rayas

It’s not every day that you get to taste wines made over half a century ago – but earlier this month I got to trace CVNE’s flagship Imperial Gran Reserva all the way back to the 1947 vintage. Victor Urrutia, the fifth generation of his family to take the helm of this legendary Rioja producer, put together a tasting of what he called “the dirty dozen” – lining up 12 vintages of Imperial. The wines were chosen to show how the wine speaks across a range of vintages – not just the most famous, but the hot, the cold, the mighty and the mediocre.  CVNE has been making wine in Rioja Alta since 1879, so – even going back to 1947 – this tasting offered just a snapshot of its history. Imperial was created in the early 20th century (1917 is the earliest vintage Urrutia himself has tasted), conceived as “super Rioja”, Urrutia explained. The idea was to make the best wine possible, regardless of its commercial potential, at a time when Rioja didn’t have the prestige of today. Around 50,000 bottles are produced, but – importantly – Imperial isn’t made in every vintage, with the quality of the fruit in some years not meeting CVNE’s stringent standards (there was no 2003, 2006 or 2013, for example, and there won’t be a 2023 either).  For Urrutia, the goal with Imperial now is to reflect each vintage, and fine-tune the wine rather than look for revolution. The early vintages are their benchmark and inspiration. Across the vintages, however, Urrutia points to a “churchy” nose – something he finds is distinctly Imperial and reminiscent of the winery.  It’s easy, perhaps, to forget how well Rioja ages – and not just over a decade or two, but over half a century. The oldest vintage in this tasting, the 1947, was undoubtedly the star – a wine that has retained its freshness, with delicate aromatics and a beautifully long, pure, resolved palate. The entire flight impressed – with the quality of Imperial shining through. Some of Rioja’s legendary vintages featured (the 1970 and 1959, which sit alongside the likes of 1982 and 1964 in the history books), but my personal favourites were the aforementioned 1947, the still compact 2004 (named Wine Spectator’s Wine of the Year in 2013), the brooding 2011 and pretty, elegant 2018.   The Imperial vineyards  The fruit for Imperial Gran Reserva comes from CVNE’s best vineyards, all over 40 years in age and almost all bush vines, yielding around 4,000kg/ha (equivalent to circa 25hl/ha or less than 1.5 tons/acre). The parcels all sit close to the Cantabrian mountains, at around 500-600 metres’ altitude, and on poor but cool soils (clay and limestone) – lending the wines great freshness, even in hot and dry years, explains longtime Technical Director María Larrea.  The village of Villalba de Rioja has been the backbone of the wine since its conception. This village was where the Real de Asúa brothers (who founded CVNE) first bought vineyards, four kilometres from Haro. The vineyards are steep and south-facing, exposed to the winds and some of the vines therefore have to be trellised (cordón Royat), but it brings acidity and freshness to the wine – something that is essential for its ageing potential. Parcels in the villages of Briones and Torremontalbo were added later, in the 1960s. Briones has richer soils, gentle slopes and a warmer climate, giving structure and body to the wine, while Torremontalbo has steep, stony slopes with calcareous soils and a significant diurnal shift, adding minerality and finesse to the blend.  The Imperial blend  The blend has shifted over the years, with the wine originally around 40% Garnacha and 40% Tempranillo, with the remaining 20% Graciano and Mazuelo. The old vineyards were field blends, with the varieties interplanted and harvested together, meaning mixed ripeness levels – something that arguably brought balance and complexity to the wines, even if some of the fruit wouldn’t have been ripe. Nowadays, each variety is planted separately at CVNE – allowing them more control and precision, harvesting each grape at the perfect moment and crafting a blend in the winery.  There was a move away from Garnacha in the 1970s, with more and more Tempranillo planted instead. Garnacha was less appreciated, seen as a workhorse, an impression that was only reenforced when lesser, high-yielding clones were planted in the 1980s and 1990s. As Larrea also noted, Garnacha is much more prone to coulure and millerandage (poor flowering and fruit-set), which may have been another factor in its decline. There was also a time, Urrutia explained, when Bordeaux was the reference point for fine wine, and they looked to imitate the region, favouring Tempranillo for its darker colour versus the more thin-skinned and therefore pale Grenache. Today, the blend is dominated by Tempranillo (with the 2017 and 2018 Imperial both 85% Tempranillo), but Grenache is undergoing a revival across Rioja and – provided they can have the right clonal material and/or older vineyards – it may contribute more to the blend in time.  The proportion of Graciano and Mazuelo has been reduced slightly, but Larrea emphasises how important the two grapes are in the face of climate change. Mazuelo (aka Carignan/Cariñena) provides structure and colour, while Graciano contributes acidity and aromatic complexity.  The winemaking  Although she joined CVNE in 1991, María Larrea took over the winemaking for Imperial with the 2005 vintage, following on from Basilio Izquierdo, who had been running things for over 30 years (since 1973). Before Izquierdo came Ezequiel García, known as “El Brujo” (“The Wizard”), winemaker for CVNE for over three decades (he returned briefly in 2014 to recreate their legendary white, Monopole).  Across the three winemakers and almost 70 years, surprisingly little has changed. The winemaking here remains extremely traditional, although technology has allowed the team to monitor the wines more closely, and for better winery hygiene, as in most regions. Fermentation remains indigenous, although it’s no longer spontaneous – the wines have been inoculated with a selected strain of their indigenous yeast since the early 2010s (with some experiments in the 1990s). Traditionally fermentation was in concrete tank, however this moved to oak in the 1990s, with one lone vintage (1994) fermented in stainless steel when the vats hadn’t arrived in time.  The wines used to be stored in barrel and only bottled when they were sold, so some older vintages of Imperial spent over a decade in barrel, while today the wine normally stays in barrel for between two and three years. (The bottling dates for each of the vintages is included below – the 1947 wasn’t bottled until 1960!) Originally the oak was all American, simply because that is what they had access to via their historic trade routes, and the barrels were kept for decades (Larrea remembers using 40-year-old barrels when she arrived in the 1990s). CVNE gradually started introducing French oak in the 1980s, with around 30% French oak used in the 1990s and around 60-70% today, with the remainder American.   The wines: tasting eight decades of CVNE Imperial  A note on the bottles themselves: older vintages are in green glass, however they moved to brown glass around 10-15 years ago.  2018 Imperial Gran Reserva: This was a real highlight of the vertical. It is very youthful still, fruit-forward, yet with amazing finesse and delicacy. The nose is precise with dainty aromatics of spice, graphite and florals alongside the crystalline fruit. The palate is juicy and lithe, pure, silken and fresh with savoury tobacco and dried red berries filling the mouth-watering finish. Beautiful and very open, even now. Fermented in oak, 14% alcohol and bottled July 2021.  2017 Imperial Gran Reserva: Frosts swept across much of Europe in late April in 2017, although the rest of the season was relatively warm, producing a tiny crop of concentrated fruit. It’s a drastically different wine to the 2018, yet still with great freshness and a floral lift alongside ripe, sweet red fruit. The palate is tight, much less approachable than the 2018, with compact tannins, a bite of crunchy acidity and a grip of firm tannins, while smoky tones that fill the finish. Decant to enjoy now, but this will be even better with a couple more years in bottle. Fermented in oak, 14% alcohol and bottled July 2020.  2015 Imperial Gran Reserva: The 2015 Imperial is dark and intense, layered with rich bramble fruit, cedar, tobacco, spice and something meaty – a hint of biltong, perhaps. The palate echoes the concentration of the nose, with chewy tannins and a line of acidity that cuts through its intensity. Powerful, almost stern, with more dried fruit coming out with air, the finish is long and savoury, with a touch of red miso. Fermented in oak, 14.5% alcohol and bottled June 2018.  2011 Imperial Gran Reserva: Another standout in the vertical, the 2011 Imperial offers a dark and pure nose, still surprisingly primary with black cherry and cassis fruit, lifted by sweet spicy perfume. The palate is silken and pure, still so youthful, flowing across the tongue, framed by firm but integrated tannins. It’s concentrated and long, with floral aromatics dancing on the juicy finish. Hard to resist with great balance. Fermented in oak, 13.5% alcohol and bottled July 2014.  2009 Imperial Gran Reserva: This is a very serious Imperial now at a lovely stage of maturity – with savoury undergrowth and spicy notes sitting alongside the vibrant dark berry fruit. The palate is intense yet with a softness to it, despite the chewy framework of tannins. It’s juicy and expressive, with smoky, spicy, tobacco notes playing on the finish, and just the slightest hint of leather starting to appear. Fermented in oak, 13.8% alcohol and bottled January 2013.  2004 Imperial Gran Reserva: From “a textbook vintage” in CVNE CEO Victor Urrutia’s words, the 2004 is shining. Pencil shavings and bacon complement ripe, dark fruit. The palate is tight and compact, yet with a juiciness that elongates the whole thing, with acidity that drives through to the long finish. The tannins are supple and soft, integrated with the fruit, but still offer a grip on the finish. Bright and effortlessly balanced. Fermented in oak, 13.8% alcohol and bottled October 2008.  1994 Imperial Gran Reserva: This is an intriguing vintage of Imperial, the only one ever to have been fermented in stainless steel as they were switching from cement to wood, but the new vats didn’t arrive in time for the vintage. It was also served at the wedding of Spain’s Crown Prince, who later became King Felipe VI. After the 2004, this marks a shift towards wines dominated by tertiary notes, although there’s still plenty of fruit here. The nose is spicy with mushroom and undergrowth alongside incense and leathery tones. The palate is laden with umami – with fresh leather and dried berry fruit – as well as dried strawberries, supple tannins and refreshing acidity. Fermented in stainless steel, 13.16% alcohol and bottled June 1998.  1980 Imperial Gran Reserva: As CEO Victor Urrutia said, 1980 was “a shit vintage” – and has always been in the shadow of 1981 and 1982. Tasting the wine today, that’s probably fair – however it’s still an impressive wine. The nose has a distinctly herbal, menthol edge to the sweet fruit – macerated strawberries, with a balsamic hint. The tannins still offer bite, while the fruit shifts to darker, more bramble tones towards the finish. Fermented in concrete, 13.4% alcohol and bottled May 1985.  1970 Imperial Gran Reserva: The 1970 vintage was hot and produced powerful wines – earning it a reputation as one of Rioja’s finest vintages. After over 50 years, the wine is intensely savoury – combining soy, marmite and barnyard tones with intense, dark fruit. With air, the wine offers layers of spice (almost reminiscent of paprika), bacon frazzles and smoked almonds, complementing the concentrated core of fruit. It’s intense yet balanced, with bright acidity that keeps everything fresh and fills the long finish. Fermented in concrete, 12.97% alcohol and bottled March 1975.  1968 Imperial Gran Reserva: From a more difficult vintage, the 1968 Imperial has a charming nose that seamlessly combines savoury and sweet – with earthy richness that sits alongside incense-inflected berry fruit and a pleasing herbal note. The palate is elegant and vibrant, with plenty of fruit still driving through its core, while more savoury, smoky notes dominate the finish. Fermented in concrete, 12.7% alcohol and bottled April 1974.  1959 Imperial Gran Reserva: The 1959 vintage is another of Rioja’s most lauded, although I suspect this bottle was not showing its best. There’s a plushness and intensity to the palate, with a sharp drive of acidity, while the nose is dominated by leather, black liquorice and barnyard. Fermented in concrete, 13% alcohol and bottled February 1968.  1947 Imperial Gran Reserva: An amazing wine to tasted, the 1947 CVNE Imperial has a reputation – one that this bottle more than lived up to. Coffee and tobacco notes with bright fruit – ripe red cherry and raspberry, as well as florals, incense, black tea and sage, alongside smoky perfume. It’s long and fresh on the palate, seamless and fully resolved but pure and persistent, with a Bovril edge to the finish which is vibrant and long. Gorgeous now – drink it while you have the chance. Fermented in concrete, 12.4% alcohol and bottled August 1960.  Explore all CVNE listings, including a range of back-vintages of Imperial Gran Reserva, or read more Editorial 

Earlier this month, CVNE hosted a once-in-a-lifetime tasting of their Imperial Gran Reserva. Sophie Thorpe explores what makes the wine so special and how it has evolved over eight decades 

Exploring CVNE’s flagship Gran Reserva Rioja, Imperial, back to 1947 at a once-in-a-lifetime tasting with CEO Victor Urrutia 

Tasting CVNE’s Imperial Gran Reserva Rioja 2018-1947 

An icon through the ages: CVNE’s Imperial Gran Reserva 

William Kelley + Yohan Castaing – Wine Advocate  Once again, the Wine Advocate’s Bordeaux en primeur coverage is shared by William Kelley and Yohan Castaing, with both providing scores, but Kelley writing the publication’s report. It’s telling that the highest potential score given for any of the 2024s is 94-96, with over half of the wines sitting below 90: in Kelley’s words, the year – which “tested growers’ limits” – “has produced few compelling wines”. Although there are some “notable successes”, the duo he feels that this is “clearly Bordeaux’s weakest vintage of the last decade”, with many wines that are “dilute, herbaceous and tart”.  The year is not homogenous, and Kelley attributes this simply to ripeness levels. He argues that those producers who “dared to wait” to harvest were rewarded. He is clear, however, that no particular variety or sub-region fared particularly better in 2024, with the year only able to be judged at a producer level. The best 2024s are, for Kelley, “intensely flavored middleweights with good structure and energy, exhibiting integrated acidity and ripe tannin”. Although the worst have acidity that can be “shrill”, with “astringent tannins and overt pyrazine character”, some – largely from early-ripening sites harvested late – “possess a density and mid-palate amplitude that transcends the year”. The vintage is, however, “a throwback”, closer to those of the 1990s than anything more recent. Elevage should help flesh out some of the wines, but Kelley is cautious of the wines’ fragility – and anticipates it “will only amplify the gap between the best and the rest”.  Kelley’s highlights: Cheval Blanc, La Conseillante, Pontet-Canet, Les Carmes Haut-Brion  Explore Kelley’s full report, notes and scores on the Wine Advocate (subscribers only)    Jane Anson – Inside Bordeaux  For Anson, 2024 exceeded her expectations: although there are, she acknowledges, "many disappointing bottles", the vintage is better than 2013 and – in the best cases – than 2021. She feels there are “more overall successes on the Right Bank than Left, simply because underripe Cabernet is very difficult to mask”, and generally speaking second wines don’t come recommended this year, with a notable step in quality. In the best reds, the acidity lends “juice, muscles and salinity”, with the Médoc offering linear, “floral, fragrant, nuanced” Claret. She highlights the quality of Saint-Julien in particular, and notes that there are “many excellent wines” in Pauillac, while Saint-Estèphe is more varied.  The Right Bank produced her wine of the vintage – Eglise-Clinet – but she notes how Pomerol is varied, with some successful wines that are “fabulous, lifted, aromatic, great quality” and some that are less successful, generally with the best hailing from the inner plateau. In Saint-Emilion, she notes how the limestone’s natural austerity needed to be managed – but “there are many tasty, successful if slim wines” in the appellation.  She emphasises the quality of the whites in the vintage, both sweet and dry, with “greater consistency and many excellent wines”. The dry whites offer great aromatics, but don’t have the density of the best wines, hence her ceiling on scores. She describes the sweet wines as “less luscious than the 2022s and 2023s”, but with “many balanced, delicious wines that are full of pleasure”.   Anson’s highlights: Eglise-Clinet, La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc, Coutet, Pavillon Blanc, Les Champs Libres, Margaux, Léoville Poyferré, Brane-Cantenac, Ausone, Laroque, Couvent des Jacobins, La Prade, Vieux Château Saint André, L’If, Pagodes de Cos Blanc, Rieussec, Suduiraut, Clos Albus, Les Hauts de Smith Blanc, Les Charmes-Godard  Explore Anson’s full report, notes and scores on Inside Bordeaux (subscribers only)    Antonio Galloni – Vinous  Galloni is the first of the two Vinous writers to publish their report on 2024 Bordeaux. Although he admits the wines are “all over the place in terms of quality and style”, he also feels that “the very best wines have a lot to offer”. After all, “Weather is no longer the critical element in determining the quality of wines and therefore a vintage.”  He emphasises how key élevage will be in the wines’ development, expecting “a very high level of variability in the finished wines” – feeling, as per the title of his report, that many of the wines sit on a “razor’s edge”. Galloni describes the 2024s as aromatic, leaning towards red fruit, with the best “exud[ing] balance” – although some can be “excessively light”, making for a “frustratingly erratic vintage”. It is, however, “far from the total disaster” suggested. For him, it’s a year where the Left Bank and Cabernet thrived, highlighting the wines of Saint-Estèphe and Pauillac, and finding those of Pomerol and Pessac-Léognan the most variable.   He emphases the quality of the dry whites in 2024, which are “some of the finest” in the vintage and can be “truly exceptional”, while also offering relative value. As for the sweets, they are – for him – very good, but not outstanding, not having the “thrill factor of the very best years”.  Galloni’s highlights: Beychevelle, Clos Puy Arnaud, Cos d’Estournel, Jean Faure, Larcis-Ducasse, Lascombes, La Conseillante, Rauzan-Ségla  Explore Antonio Galloni’s full report, notes and scores on Vinous (subscribers only)    Neal Martin – Vinous    Following on from Galloni’s report (above), Neal Martin covers the growing season defined by its “biblical” amount of rain. He feels 2024 is “a good vintage with limitations”, noting that the wines are inconsistent and the “maleficent season… widens the divide between the haves and have-nots”. He emphasises that those who triumphed had not the best terroir, but “the deepest pockets and those who made the right decisions at the right times” – and even then, it is “a growing season that is impossible to transcend”.  He, like others, notes how different the vintage would have been just a couple of decades ago, noting that it is “unequivocally far superior” to the likes of 1984, 1992 or 2013. Although it is not consistent, he admits there are wines that “touch the sky”, and the best are “pretty” – offering “delineated and focused” aromatics, balanced wines in which a “spine of acidity lends poise”, with “ample freshness and sapidity”. They are, he writes, “ideal restaurant wines that will provide easy-drinking pleasure whilst you wait for the 2019 or 2022s to mature”.  Martin highlights the quality of the dry whites – with cool conditions producing “riveting, tensile Sauvignon Blanc/Sémillon-based wines that often trump their red counterparts”. As for Sauternes, he reports that they are very good, but not classically opulent, instead “full of freshness and purity”.  Neal Martin’s highlights: Vieux Château Certan, Lafleur, Eglise-Clinet, Lafite Rothschild, Margaux, Montrose, La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc, Domaine de Chevalier Blanc, Malartic-Lagravière Blanc, Le Blanc de Lafite, Les Champs Libres, Doisy-Daëne, Coutet, Guiraud, Suduiraut  Explore Neal Martin’s full report, notes and scores on Vinous (subscribers only)    James Suckling  For James Suckling, tasting 2024 was a nostalgic experience – reminding him of “modern renditions of years such as 1985 or 1995”. Although he feels it is among the most heterogenous vintages he’s tasted, he describes the top 2024s as having “fine tannins and a crunchy, bright character”, “linear and fresh” with “vivid acidity”, noting that they’ll be approachable early. The best, he believes, come from early-ripening sites with the large teams necessary to tackle the year. He feels the dry whites, meanwhile, are very good to excellent – with Haut-Brion Blanc and Pavillon Blanc both among his top-scoring wines.  Suckling’s highlights: Haut-Brion Blanc, Evangile, Lafleur, Latour, Pavillon Blanc, Angélus, Ausone, Cos d’Estournel, Haut-Brion, Eglise-Clinet, La Mission Haut-Brion, Léoville Las Cases, Les Carmes Haut-Brion, Margaux, Mouton Rothschild, Pétrus, Smith-Haut-Lafitte Blanc, Vieux Château Certan  Explore James Suckling’s full report, notes and scores on his website (subscribers only)    Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW – The Wine Independent  The headline for Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW is that the best reds in 2024 are “lighter-bodied, soft-textured, refreshing and perfumed”, while there are “many spectacular dry white wines and small quantities of excellent wines from Sauternes”. She notes how the wines generally have ripe tannins, but flavour ripeness was more challenging – and has resulted in “a lot of good, delicious, drinkable, if not awe-inspiring, reds” although “many don’t have the flavor layers or intensity of a truly great wine”.  One thing shines through for her: “Quality levels are all over the show.” She, like us, feels the Right Bank is more consistent and notes that “many elegant, bright, refreshing, soft-textured and perfumed wines” come from Saint-Emilion and Pomerol. On the Left Bank, she finds that quality drops away as you move away from the gravel terraces and the finest terroirs, although many Classed Growths produced wines “worthy of their status” if in a lighter style than recent years.  The dry whites are, for her, “the silver lining” of the vintage – noting their consistency and quality. She finds that many have “an effortless sense of harmony”, the aromatics and acidity preserved by the cooler conditions. She highlights a number of dry whites to look out for – noted below. Quality in Sauternes and Barsac is “excellent”, she writes, feeling the acid backbone injects “vivacity” into the wines, bringing greater balance versus warmer vintages. The best have “great flavor intensity, plenty of botrytis-instilled complexity, and racy backbones” – and are wines well worth seeking out.  Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW’s highlights: Figeac, Haut-Brion Blanc, Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc, La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc, Pavillon Blanc, Eglise-Clinet, Montrose, Trotte Vieille, Pape Clément Blanc, Domaine de Chevalier Blanc, Valandraud Blanc, D’Aiguilhe Blanc, Larrivet Haut-Brion Blanc, Suduiraut Pur Sémillon, Les Champs Libres, Cos d’Estournel Blanc, Lespault-Martillac Blanc  Explore Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW’s full report on The Wine Independent (subscribers only)    Georgie Hindle – Decanter  Decanter’s coverage is being gradually released, and so far includes a report on the growing season, as well as an early look at the styles the year produced. Georgie Hindle says it is closest in style to 2021, looking at recent vintages, however highlights the drier, warmer summer which differentiates it. She emphasises that the year is not uniform, and the wines are generally shaped by a “taut, mineral freshness” rather than fruit depth or opulence. She says the best “offer flashes of aromatic precision, elegant and refreshing clarity with structure and length” – they “achieve balance between fruit, acidity and tannins”. Many are weak or thin and – as we and others have emphasised – you cannot generalise this year – and it shouldn’t be one you write-off, she urges.   She doesn’t feel that the dry whites fared better than the reds, with results similarly mixed – but some successful wines that are aromatic and appealing. As for the region’s sweet wines, they offer “an easy drinkability” but don’t all have “the density and consistency of stronger vintages”.    Explore Georgie Hindle’s coverage on Decanter (subscribers only)     Colin Hay – The Drinks Business This is the first year we’re including The Drinks Business. A trade publication, it has been expanding its coverage of Bordeaux and relatively recently started scoring wines, all tackled by Colin Hay. Despite the challenging growing season, he argues that “those with both the resources – human and financial – and above all the acumen to respond to its trials and tribulations have triumphed”. Although at the lower end of the quality tree, he finds the wines disappointing and the vintage far from even, he writes that “at the top of the pyramid” there are “wines that transcend the challenges of the vintage” – “fully ripe, elegant, refined, highly aromatic, with soft, delicate, finely grained tannins and a succulence, clarity and brilliance that is rare indeed”. He finds them “remarkable” – even without the context of the year. Although they don’t reach the heights of 2019, 2020 or 2022, he feels the wines can be favourably compared to other recent vintages – indeed, he feels the best sit above wines from 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006. 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017 and 2018. He writes that although the wines are “likely to be highly accessible in their youth”, they “still have quite significant ageing potential”. He is another to feel the vintage is slightly stronger on the Right Bank, and rave about the whites (“unique and spectacular”, “an undoubted highlight of the vintage” that he puts on a par with 2017 and 2021) and the sweets (although he confesses these are less consistent). Although there are exceptions, Pauillac is “the least flattered by the vintage”, and can be austere. He found that estates in Saint-Estèphe seemed to embrace the vintage, finding several highlights – including Montrose, “a wine of staggering depth and originality, yet also of an ethereal and aerial beauty and profound aromatic complexity”. In Saint-Julien, he finds “a reassuring sweetness to the fruit and a nutty creaminess”, coping with the vintage better, as Margaux also did, offering much “charm and typicity”. He finds the reds of Pessac-Léognan and Graves especially heterogenous, although he feels people will remember the vintage for its whites.  On the Right Bank, Hay finds that the best of Pomerol “indicate nothing of the difficulties of the growing season”, with elevated proportions of Cabernet providing “additional aromatic lift and florality”. In Saint-Emilion, he also discovers many vintage-transcending wines, “far more homogenous” than expected, especially versus the Left Bank, and many of them sit within its classification system – suggesting it is “an impressive guarantor of quality to the consumer”.  Colin Hay’s highlights: Mouton Rothschild, Montrose, Cos d’Estournel, Gruaud Larose, Palmer, Lafleur, Le Pin, Petrus, Eglise-Clinet, Trotanoy, Bélair-Monange, Rocheyron, Cheval Blanc, Figeac, Angélus, Beauséjour, Larcis-Ducasse, Pavie, Les Carmes Haut-Brion, La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc, Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc, L’Extravagant de Doisy-Daëne, Lafaurie-Peyraguey, Suduiraut Explore Colin Hay’s full report, notes and scores on The Drinks Business Jeb Dunnuck Although 2024 was a difficult vintage, it produced “charming, mid-weight, forward, moderately concentrated wines”, writes Dunnuck. He compares quality to 2021 but with more “openness and suppleness”, feeling it is neither a Left or Right Bank year, but one that needs to be analysed by estate. He does feel, however, that Pessac is “a shining gem in the vintage”. The wines are about “approachability over density”, and the Merlot-driven wines of the Right Bank show their terroir well, while Pomerol is darker in style. On the Left Bank, similarly, they are not blockbusters, but – he says – they “will certainly appeal to those who pine for the yesteryears of the 1980s and 1990s”, and will “unquestionably offer ample drinking and longevity”. He suggests they may follow a similar trajectory to the 2001s, wines “drinking beautifully today” – and some “have a balance and harmony that might surprise”.  As for the whites, although there are “some brilliant whites”, it is not universal – a good rather than great vintage. And that is trye for the vintage across the board, in his mind, selective buying is advised, but there are some good wines worthy of attention. Jeb Dunnuck’s highlights: Figeac, Haut-Brion, La Conseillante, Lafaurie Peyraguey Coeur de Terroir, Pavillon Blanc, Mouton Rothschild, Pape Clément, Suduiraut, Suduiraut Pur Semillon, Valandraud Blanc    Explore Bordeaux 2024 

As the floodgates open for Bordeaux 2024 releases, the world’s leading wine critics are offering their thoughts on the vintage. Here you’ll find a round-up of what the Wine Advocate, Vinous and more are saying about the vintage so far – and the wines they rated most highly 

Your essential crib-sheet to what the world’s leading wine critics are saying about Bordeaux 2024 en primeur–including Wine Advocate, Vinous,Decanter and more

Bordeaux 2024 en primeur – what the critics are saying 

Bordeaux 2024: what the critics are saying 

Alphonse Gros was the first in his family to settle in Vosne-Romanée, in 1830, and purchased the monopole Clos des Réas, still worked by the family today. His son Louis-Gustave took over the business and bought more vineyards. He married and – by the mid-19th century – the wines were bottled under their combined name, as Domaine Gros-Guenaud. In 1882, he purchased two hectares of Richebourg – vineyard land that remains under the Gros family today. Louis-Gustave’s son, Jules Gros, inherited the business from his father and, similarly to his father, labelled the wines under his and his wife’s name, as Domaine Gros-Renaudot. In 1920, he purchased two parcels of Clos Vougeot, later adding Les Grands Echezeaux and three hectares of Echézeaux, in the lieu-dit Les Loächausses.  Louis Gros, Jules’s son, took over in due course, and bottled wines under Domaine Louis Gros and later Domaine Louis Gros & Fils. He passed away in 1951, leaving four children: Jean, François, Gustave and Colette, who continued running the family estate until 1963, when they divvied up the property.  Gustave and Colette joined their shares together to create Domaine Gros Frère & Soeur.  Jean and François worked together, making wine under the name Gros Père & Fils, but divided their holdings in the early 1970s. Jean established his own estate, Domaine Jean Gros.  François continued to produce wine under the Gros Père & Fils label (négoce bottlings), but also under Domaine François Gros. In 1978, he stopped bottling wine due to health problems, and for a decade all the wine was sold to a négociant, with both the domaine or négoce ceasing production. Despite previously studying the arts, his daughter Anne Gros shifted too winemaking and revived the family domaine in 1988, under the name Domaine Anne & François Gros, changing this to Domaine Anne Gros in 1995.  Jean had three children: Bernard, Michel and Anne-Françoise. Bernard Gros took over Domaine Gros Frère & Soeur, while Michel Gros starting making wine under his own name at Domaine Michel Gros. Anne-Françoise established Domaine A.-F. Gros (she later married François Parent of Pommard, who brought family vines with him to the operation). The next generation is now taking over, and even setting up their own estates – with Anne Gros’s son Paul Tollot-Gros having made his first handful of vintages under his own name.    The Gros estates today  Domaine Gros Frère & Soeur: Bernard Gros has now handed the running of this domaine over to his son, Vincent Gros.  Domaine Michel Gros: Michel Gros is still at the helm of this estate, although his son Pierre is now working alongside his father.  Domaine A.-F. Gros: This estate, with a large winery in Beaune as well as a property in Pommard, is now run by brother-and-sister Caroline and Mathias Parent, with Caroline in charge of the commercial side of the business and Mathias running the vineyards and winery.  Domaine Anne Gros: Anne Gros is still in charge at the estate, but her children – Julie, Paul and Marine – are all involved. Paul has now also set up his own label (see below). She also has a project in the Minervois, under the name Jean-Paul Tollot & Anne Gros  Paul Tollot-Gros: Anne Gros’s son, Paul Tollot-Gros, set up his own label as of the 2022 vintage.   

There are several different Gros estates in Burgundy – but how are they all related? Here, we dive into their vinous dynasty

There are many different Gros estates in Burgundy – but how are they related? We dive into Gros Frere & Soeur, Michel Gros, Anne Gros, A-F Gros and more

The Gros family domaines in Burgundy 

Untangling the Gros family’s estates in Burgundy

There’s been no shortage of hype about the 2021 vintage – a year that producers and pundits have been praising as one of the best in modern history, frequently comparing it to 2016 or 2019. But does it meet those very high expectations?  The preceding winter was key – mild and wet, replenishing water reserves in the soils, an essential resource for the vines to draw on later in the season. The growing season didn’t start too early, and although there was a drop in temperatures in early April (a risk to the early-budding Nebbiolo), frost damage was limited. Reports suggest that lower-altitude sites were hit hardest, but losses were only around 10% – and some producers considered it a form of natural green harvest.  After this early threat to the crop, late April and May were cool and wet, but then the weather was largely warm and dry until harvest. Temperatures weren’t excessive, apart from a brief heatwave in early August, but the water reserves were key to allowing the vines to survive in the dry conditions. Vietti winemaker Eugenio Palumbo explained that they received around 400mm rain across the season, versus the 600-700mm of a normal year.  Storms hit the region in early July, with some hail – although this was localised and impacted Roero, Monferrato and a handful of sites in Barolo. The dry conditions meant disease pressure was minimal. Come September, there was a little rain, helping the vines over the finish line, while the temperatures at night dropped – providing a high diurnal range that helped preserve aromatics and freshness while the fruit developed phenolic maturity.  Harvest got underway at the very end of September (Philine Isabelle Dienger was one of the first out on 29th), running through to the middle of October, with all the Nebbiolo in by the third week of the month.  Aldo Vacca of Produttori del Barbaresco and the Gaja team both compared the vintage to 2016 – emphasising its classic style. The long growing season allowed for structured wines with ripe tannins, yet the cool nights in the run-up to harvest preserved tension and aromatics.  Not everyone agrees on its classicism, however; for Dave Fletcher (Fletcher Wines) it is a vintage with amazing structure, depth and density, but it’s far from typical. Valentina Grasso at Ca’ del Baio explained how tight and dark-fruited the wines are in comparison to those of 2016, needing time to reveal their complexity.  Similarly, Nicola Oberto at Trediberri emphasised how – although many Monforte d’Alba producers thought it was a perfect vintage for the commune – the powerful style of the year didn’t necessarily fit them, preferring the purity of a year like 2022.  Philine Isabelle Dienger noted how the warm, dry conditions were a shock to the vines after 2018, 2019 and 2020, and the ferments were tricky to handle, sluggish. Some noted it was a difficult year to use native yeast, and more opted for cultured yeasts to ensure clean ferments. The Philine Isabelle wines were typically low in alcohol, at around 13.5% with their early-picking philosophy, but most tended to be around and above the 14.5% mark in 2021.  For Burlotto’s Fabio Alessandria, the dry, warm conditions provided just the right amount of stress for the plants and he’s very happy with the quality of the 2021 wines – structured with good density and concentration, yet maintaining balance, akin perhaps to 2019 Burgundy. The wines will undoubtedly need time, he says, but the vintage will reward those who wait.  Most critics are yet to offer their full thoughts on the vintage, although Kerin O’Keefe wrote in an early look at the year that, although it was “a difficult vintage”, the best wines are “stunning, age-worthy wines”, combining “the austerity of 2019 with the elegance of 2016”. Echoing Alessandria, she feels the wines will need a decade to drink at their best. Reporting for jancisrobinson.com, Walter Speller was initially cautious of the “enigmatic” year, wondering if it was as good as people suggested, however now feels it is “an excellent vintage”, offering “more heft and depth than the utterly beguiling and readily accessible 2019”.  Antonio Galloni (Vinous) has published his report and – although it doesn’t quite have “the stratospheric peaks of the most exceptional years”, there are “a bevy of outstanding wines”. The 2021s are “finessed, elegant wines that will delight Piedmont fans”, with “open aromatics, pliant fruit and finessed, ripe tannins” – and the best, he says, are “profoundly expressive”.  Keep your eyes peeled for additional reports on the vintage; we’ll add to this feature as and when we have more information. In the meantime, read more about Italy  Browse all current listings of 2021 Barolo 

Ever since the fruit came into the winery, the Piedmont’s producers have been talking about the 2021 vintage in hallowed terms. As the first Barolos from the year are released, we dive into the revered vintage, looking at what both producers and critics are saying about the year

Diving into the 2021 vintage in Piedmont – the growing season and wines from Barolo and Barbaresco according to producers and critics 

Piedmont 2021: vintage focus 

Old, low-yielding vines. I’ve written that phrase more times than I’d like to confess. But how much does it really mean when it comes to the quality of the wine in your glass? The 2023 vintage in Burgundy (read our full vintage report here) produced generous yields. In farming terms, that’s a good thing: a plentiful crop that restocks the cellars (and coffers). But the sheer volume of fruit (“a wall of grapes”, as Bouchard’s winemaker Frédéric Weber told us) posed its own challenge – and much of our time in the region’s cellars this year was spent diving into how they managed, or controlled, the yield. It seemed fitting, therefore, to address the topic in greater detail.  In the Old World, appellation rules will limit yields, with the yield generally decreasing as you move up the appellation system (see below a table detailing the maximum yields for Burgundy, for example). Of course, this indicates a relationship between yield and quality, implying less is better – and there is no doubt that excessive yields don’t produce fine wine. But how low is too low? There is a fashion for prizing vines that barely manage to ripen a bunch or two, but do they really make better wine than those producing a decent crop? Beyond our obsession with rarity, what are the consequences of less fruit per vine – and therefore, what does more entail? A note on measuring yield Before we get into the weeds of the matter, let’s address how we talk about yield. In the Old World, the most common measurement of yield is hectolitres per hectare (hl/ha), measuring the volume of juice or wine per hectare of vineyard area. In Champagne the standard measure is kilos per hectare and in Italy you may see reference to quintales per hectare (qt/ha or q/ha, with one quintal translating to 100kg), while in the US, producers are more likely to use tons per acre. We’ll dive further into the many variables here, but it’s worth highlighting that vine density isn’t taken into account by any of these measurements. Although a higher number of vines per hectare will generally mean a higher yield across the vineyard, the increased competition will also likely reduce the yield per vine. For this article, we have spoken to producers from a range of regions, but do note that yields are not comparable between varieties or region. Climate – with heat, sunlight and water availability, as well as the varying size of berries and clusters of any given variety, mean that there is no number that can be deemed a global average when it comes to yield. (Do look at this table compiled by the Wine Advocate’s William Kelley, comparing vine density, cluster weight and juice yields for various classic fine wine regions, to give you an idea of the differences between regions.) Given this, “high” and “low” yields aren’t equated to specific numbers here, but the concept discussed more broadly – and arguably more relevantly for those of us drinking wine rather than making it. Bearing all of this in mind, extremely approximate conversions can be made as follows: one tonne per hectare is approximately 7hl/ha, while one ton per acre is around 17.5hl/ha (Oxford Companion to Wine). Yields: how low is too low? “It’s not extreme mythology: low yields produce better quality,” Cerbaiona’s Matthew Fioretti tells me; for him, high yields risk dilution and sanitary problems – and at excessive levels, that is certainly true. But, as Myriad’s Mike Smith told me, the relationship is “not linear”. Mike Dunn (Dunn Vineyards) generally has low yields, but that’s not necessarily about concentration, he explains: it’s simply about how much they can ripen before winter hits. Up on Napa’s Howell Mountain, their poor soils and farming (avoiding irrigation and fertilisation where they can) naturally produce lower yields. He recently changed some of their Cabernet Sauvignon to cane (rather than cordon) pruning and, although they’re getting more fruit off the same vines, there’s been no loss in quality. “It’s all relative,” says Ivan Massonnat at Belargus in Anjou. He points to Saumur with its limestone soils, where producers can crop 45-50hl/ha without a problem, but on the schist soils that lie beneath his vineyards: “Forget about doing much more than 30-35hl/ha,” he says. And even that has proven challenging for him. In the seven vintages he’s produced at the estate, only two have come close to 30hl/ha, with the average around 15hl/ha, simply due to the challenges of each vintage. He’d have loved to crop more – but nature had other ideas, and vignerons have to adapt to the vintage. Massonnat explains how if you farm to produce yields that are overly low, you can end up with fruit that has high technical, or sugar, maturity, but isn’t yet phenolically ripe – leading to unbalanced wines. Smith echoes this, talking specifically about Beckstoffer Dr Crane, one of Napa’s legendary vineyards, which he finds likes to produce more – around five tons an acre (versus four in most of the vineyards he works with). He sees producers cropping to just three tons per acre there, and in warm vintages the fruit ripens too quickly for the phenolics to catch up. Philippe Bascaules – who was first appointed Estate Director at Ch. Margaux in 1990 – offers an interesting perspective, arguing that there’s no direct relationship between yield and quality. In Bordeaux in the 1970s, he tells me, yields were consistently low – 25-30hl/ha, with wines that were inconsistent. As the wines became more popular, with demand from the US in particular for the 1982 vintage, producers started aiming for significantly higher yields and chaptalizing much more. Soon, average yields had doubled to 50-60hl/ha – a level that was unsustainable, especially in challenging vintages such as 1992, ’93 and ’94. Gradually they implemented changes, introducing green-harvesting (in 1986 at Ch. Margaux) and reducing fertilisation levels in the 1990s. Today, he and his team aim for around 45hl/ha, “a good production” in his mind – but a level which also offers insurance against inclement conditions. Lowering yields is something that, for him, has brought greater consistency to both the estate and region across vintages – ensuring they can ripen the crop each year. Deliberately reducing the yield beyond this, however, wouldn’t offer any serious benefit, he says. Similarly, across the Durantou family’s estates on the Right Bank, including Ch. l’Eglise-Clinet, Noëmie Durantou Reilhac targets a yield of circa 42hl/ha. “The vine wants to produce fruit,” she says, “so if the yield is really, really low, something went wrong.” For her, it’s the balance that matters most. With very high yields, the resulting wines will lack concentration (“You cannot make in tanks what nature hasn’t done before,” she says), but equally if the berries are so small that there is barely any juice, you’ll have little but tannins left to work with. And, while hail or frost will reduce your yield, they won’t result in greater concentration. “I think it just comes down to stress,” Dunn tells me. And that’s a common thread for several producers, arguing that vines need to struggle to produce quality. As Sébastien le Golvet – of Champagne Henri Giraud, who works with the poor soils of Aÿ – says, “genii are born of suffering”. Suffering doesn’t always mean lower yields, however: arguably, Dunn says, in high-vigour sites, keeping higher yields will help increase stress, pushing the vine to work harder – and therefore produce higher quality. Elements impacting yield While it’s impossible for us to address every factor that influences yield, it’s worth – relatively briefly – highlighting a few additional influences beyond site (with poorer or richer soils), variety and vintage: Trellising: Trellising – the shape in which a vine is trained – can be used to control yield. At Cerbaiona, Fioretti emphasises how using alberello or bush vines is key to helping contain Sangiovese’s natural vigour. At Tiberio, Cristiana Tiberio’s oldest vines are pergola-trained, with a traditional Abruzzese system that encourages competition but also increases the canopy to aid photosynthesis and ripening. Vine material/rootstock: The material used in a vineyard is integral (as with Quinta do Noval’s Nacional vineyard, see below). Mike Dunn, for example, mentioned how one of his older vineyards was planted on St George rootstock, known for shatter and therefore limiting yields even further. Jean-Marie Fourrier (Domaine Fourrier) argues that the use of selected clones, rather than massal selection, has resulted in higher yields and the need to green harvest, something that he never does – aided further by the age of his vines (see below for more on this). Vine age: There’s no doubt that the element of vine age is conflated with yields and quality, with older vines often producing better fruit – but less of it. As Mike Dunn told me, the wines from his oldest vines are “more intriguing”, but at some point economics comes into play, and the level of production is financially unsustainable. It’s another non-linear relationship, however, as Durantou Reilhac explains: “Some 70-year-old grandmas can run and dance, and others are weaker.” Although most old vines will produce less fruit, she finds it’s far from uniform in her vineyards – and sometimes there will be young vines that produce less. Virus and millerandage: Virused vines will produce lower yields, and as with old vines, will reach a point where they are unsustainable. While on the surface virus is negative, certain producers do value the reduction in yield or slower ripening that is a result of disease – South Africa’s Hamilton Russell being one (with leafroll virus). Quinta do Noval persists with its own-rooted Nacional vineyard, suffering from phylloxera, with the vines slowly dying and yielding tiny volumes, to produce a particularly special and rare Vintage Port. Similarly, millerandage is a condition most commonly a consequence of poor weather at fruit-set, producing grape clusters with unevenly sized grapes, combining larger and smaller (or shot) berries – sometimes referenced as hen-and-chick. While this reduces yield, the phenomenon is sometimes valued for giving increased concentration to wine. Indeed, some particular clones – such as the Mendoza, Wente or Gingin clones of Chardonnay – are valued for their bunches with hen-and-chicks, and Bret Brothers, for example, even makes a special Cuvée Millerandée – with millerandée Chardonnay – from Les Quarts (a Pouilly-Vinzelles site recently awarded Premier Cru status). Cover crops: At Henri Giraud, Sébastien le Golvet feels that cover crops are essential to the quality of their fruit – and the yield. Sewn just before harvest, the cover crops provide competition up until flowering when they roll the grass mix, creating a bed that holds water and offers nitrogen to the soils, acting as a natural fertiliser – in a way both moderating then fuelling the vines’ growth. This is one hint at the extent to which the type of soils and level of organic matter, not to mention water availability, dictated by site and the farming methods, are all key. The previous vintage: There are two theories at play here. Firstly, conditions during what is known as the initiation phase of the vine cycle, which takes place alongside flowering, will dictate the yield of the following vintage. In 2023 in Burgundy for example, one of the factors in yield was that the spring of 2022 offered perfect conditions, laying the groundwork for 2023’s plentiful crop. As Sébastien le Golvet also explained, however, a large crop in one vintage can tire the vines, meaning they have less to give the following year. How wine producers manage yield The vine naturally wants to reproduce, to grow, ripen fruit and spread its seeds. Vignerons are tasked with taming the plant to focus its energies to develop fruit of concentration and complexity that will make fine wine. This is done in many ways, some of which include: Pruning: The first stage to set up the yield in an existing vineyard is pruning, leaving the appropriate number of buds per vine for the season ahead. The timing of this varies according to the producer, from December through to March, with later pruning helping delay the vine cycle, which is sometimes desirable. Alvina Pernot, for example, specifically pruned her vines shortly (ie to offer a lower crop) in 2023 to help the vines recover from the relatively high-yielding 2022 vintage. Lalou Bize-Leroy famously works with very low yields, and emphasises how important pruning is in this (Domaine Leroy harvested just under 30hl/ha in 2023, its highest ever yield – a number which would still be low by many producers’ standards). De-budding or suckering: In spring, producers will de-bud or sucker the vines, removing lateral shoots and providing further control of the potential yield, as well as the spacing and position of the crop. In 2023 in Burgundy, many producers emphasised how important this was. Hugues Pavelot described it as “drastic”, while Philippe Jouan passed through his vines twice. At Bouchard, Frédéric Weber explained how some of the buds produced two or three bunches in 2023 (rather than the normal one), meaning that even with extensive de-budding yields were very high. Green harvesting: Green-harvesting is the most discussed method of yield control, and one that divides producers. We spoke to several Burgundian vignerons who avoid it (Dominique Lafon, Jacques Devauges at Domaine des Lambrays, Philippe Jouan and Jean-Marie Fourrier, to name a few) – some of whom felt that they had no choice but to use the method in 2023, despite their best efforts. The reason against green-harvesting is that the vine will try to compensate, and that it can be avoided with managing the vineyard in other ways. That said, there are many top-tier producers that green-harvest, and feel it is key to the quality they produce (Ch. Margaux, Eglise-Clinet, Georges Noëllat and Olivier Bernstein, to name a few). And it’s not a decision that any take lightly, well aware that they are literally throwing away potential income. At Cerbaiona, Fioretti compares the vines to runners or cyclists – needing to carry as little weight as possible to get over the finish line. With Sangiovese, he finds it’s unavoidable, especially with the presence of “wings” or “shoulders” (smaller separate clusters that sit on the shoulder of the main bunch). The timing is key, and many producers emphasise the importance of green-harvesting early in the season. For Noëmie Durantou Reilhac, she aims to have this done prior to véraison to avoid twisting the stems (which would impact sap flow) and damaging the skins of the remaining bunches. She’ll do a final pass through her vineyards just before harvest, but this is a method of sorting rather than impacting the ripeness of the grapes on the vine. “There’s a certain point where you can reduce fruit, say a month away from picking, but it won’t do anything,” says Myriad’s Mike Smith. Like many producers, he favours green-harvesting mid-véraison to drop anything that is behind, helping even the ripeness of the crop – as Bascaules does at Ch. Margaux. In 2023, several Burgundy producers highlighted having to do multiple passes to reduce the crop – doing what was sometimes referred to as a “pink” or “blue” harvest on top of a green harvest. Canopy management: A vine’s leaves are its engine – responsible for photosynthesis. The larger the canopy, the larger the engine, therefore trimming the vine’s canopy can help lower its vigour, while keeping a larger leaf area can help encourage vigour. This needs to be considered alongside airflow (to avoid disease pressure) and shading of the bunches (which could delay ripening). If the canopy isn’t balanced with the volume of fruit, it can also negatively impact fruit composition – especially the acid make-up and development of colour and phenolics. Ivan Massonnat (Belargus) explained that in 2022 and 2023, for example, he used a high trellis, allowing a larger leaf area, to capture maximum light and photosynthesis to fuel the vines; but in 2022 he did the opposite, wanting to reduce the size of the “sugar machine”. It has, he notes, become common for large canopies to be used alongside low yields, especially by producers in Burgundy, something he feels has gone too far at certain addresses: “You can kill a wine with concentration,” he says. Some argue that trimming the canopy can encourage it to grow further, while others want to retain a large canopy to encourage root growth (Olivier Lamy feels that the vine has the same amount of growth above and below ground, therefore wanting to retain his canopy to the roots to drive deep into the soil). Lamy is one of a cohort of producers using “tressage”, or braiding, to tame the canopy – a technique pioneered by Lalou Bize-Leroy. For her the aim is to avoid cutting the apex (or growing tip) which would otherwise encourage the growth of lateral shoots. Producers such as Charles Lachaux have taken this even further, training vines to a single stake (more common on the steep slopes of Priorat, Côte-Rôtie or the Mosel) and weaving the shoots into distinctive arches.  The relationship between yield and quality is undoubtedly a tricky one – and one that every producer I spoke to feels is deeply complex. We couldn’t touch on everything here (the tiny yields for botrytised sweet wines, for example, or typically higher yields used for sparkling wine), but there’s plenty to consider. While it remains clear that excessive yields can produce dilute wines, with so many variables play, it’s also clear that less isn’t always better. Read more Editorial

Burgundy’s vignerons were blessed with quantity in 2023, but – when it comes to making fine wine – how much is too much? We spoke to a host of top producers to find out if low yields really do mean better quality

Do low yields really mean better quality when it comes to wine? We talk to Ch. Margaux, Cerbaiona, Eglise-Clinet, Belargus, Dunn, Myriad and more to find out

Understanding yield and quality in wine

Yield and quality: is less really more?

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