THE 2024 HARVEST HAS BEGUN IN THE RHÔNE VALLEY VINEYARDS

It’s harvest time for the white grape varieties of the appellations of the Rhône Valley Vineyards. The harvesters (who started with the Muscats around August 20) picked the first white bunches on September 2, almost a week later than in 2023. The red harvest should begin mid-September.
The 2024 vintage is expected to be later than 2020 and 2022 (record for earliness) with a 10-day difference. This year, the harvest dates are closer to the ten-year averages.

The 2023 winter was one of the warmest winters recorded in the Rhône Valley vineyards and was relatively dry, triggering an early budburst. The mild temperatures continued in March, but the rains were abundant, thus making up for the rainfall deficit recorded since the beginning of autumn. The vines were therefore able to develop without water stress during this period.

In April 2024, the phenology was 10 to 15 days ahead of 2023, with some heterogeneity within the same plot and between plots in the same area. The risk of mildew was high at the time of bud break, particularly on more sensitive grape varieties such as Grenache. The early summer weather (wind and lack of rain) allowed this risk to be reduced to a moderate level.

Between April 19 and 21, frost affected some vineyards in the Rhône Valley. More or less significant damage was observed in Luberon, Ventoux and in the Diois, and towards Crozes-Hermitage for the northern vineyards.
Akin to March, May 2024 was very rainy. The cumulative rainfall was higher than normal across almost the entire Rhone vineyard. These weather conditions helped compensate for the early budburst of the vines. Thus, the plots achieved their flowering at almost the same time as the previous year.
Mid-July, the ripeness of the grapes, particularly in the southern part of the vineyard, was about a week late compared to the advancement of maturity at the same time in 2023.

Currently, the good health of the vineyard is maintained, with an increase in berry weight, which is above the average of the previous vintages. From a quantitative point of view, mildew could impact the yields in certain areas but they remain in the average of the last vintages. The good weather conditions of the summer are leading to a healthy crop. The harvest begins in a context very favorable to ripening conditions, in particular thanks to the diurnal range of temperatures.

In summary, the 2024 vintage will have experienced, like the two previous vintages, significant climatic hazards resulting in a certain heterogeneity on volumes, and an increase in vineyard work. This year again, the winegrowers of the Rhône Valley vineyards will have worked with all their know-how and tenacity in the vineyards in order to guarantee the quality of the harvest.

In the southern part, there is a few days delay compared to 2023.
The southern left bank was relatively spared by the mildew episode. On the right bank, however, mildew pressure was more marked, with a slight impact in terms of yield, but without consequences on the health of the vineyard thanks to favorable weather conditions in the summer. A few localized hail episodes also affected berry set.

In the northern part, the 2024 vintage is expected to be a rather late vintage, akin to 2019. The plots located on deep soils, with water reserves, show a more marked delay in maturity (especially for the white Crozes Hermitage). Conversely, the hillsides of Cornas, for example, are close to last year's ripening level in terms of potential alcoholic degree. The weight of the berries is generally in the high averages. The vintage shows a heterogeneous trend in the evolution of ripening and a gap in the yield potential.

The winemakers of the 2nd largest AOC vineyard in France are confident about the potential of the upcoming vintage. Although it is still too early to describe, 2024 should offer a great vintage, very pleasant to drink and with similar characteristics to that of 2019. The first juices already display beautiful tannic ripeness and good balance.

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