Walls: The best wines to buy from Gigondas in 2022

Some vintages have clear identities. In Gigondas, the 2019s for example are wilful, energetic wines, while the 2018s are softer and juicier. The 2022 vintage is harder to pin down. The best way of describing it, both in climate and style, is a vintage of extremes. The wines occupy a broader stylistic spectrum than a typical year, even within the range of a single producer. But if you sidestep the unbalanced wines – there are many with tough tannins and high alcohols – the best wines will age for decades. Scroll down for Matt Walls' best 2022 Gigondas wines in bottle [subscriber-content] A harsh season The extreme nature of the wines comes as no surprise: 2022 was the hottest and driest year on record in the southern Rhône . ‘The summer was very hot, scorching even,’ says Julien Brechet of Domaine des Bosquets, ‘and very dry. Temperatures sometimes reached 42°C. ‘Fortunately the cool Dentelles massif and the morning shade cast over the vineyard helped us hold our ground,’ he continues. ‘The sunshine is strong but less scorching than on the plains.’ Romain Saurel of Domaine Saint-Damien says that spring was extremely dry, with less than 200mm of rainfall between December and July. Thankfully there was a storm on 14 August, which ‘really saved the quality of the vintage,’ he says. Further small rains later in August and September also helped the vines stay on track, but young vines suffered. Brechet had to manually water his young vines 11 times between June and August to keep them alive. Old vines coped much better. This is a vintage where Grenache really shows its worth. The Syrah -heavy blends were often impenetrably tough and tannic, whereas the Grenache-based wines were more juicy, vibrant and balanced. [caption id="attachment_563214" align="aligncenter" width="1300"] The Dentelles de Montmirail provide a cooling microclimate. Credit: Ilka Kramer[/caption] See Matt Walls full report on the 2022 vintage in the Rhône here Tannin and texture Very hot, dry vintages can sometimes lead to jammy or raisined fruit flavours but that’s not the case in 2022. Despite the conditions – and the fairly low acidities – the wines do have a good sense of freshness. Nonetheless, the hot, dry conditions left a strong imprint on the wines. For Jérôme Rathle, 2022 marked his second vintage. His new estate, Domaine des Florets, is one to watch. ‘The lack of rain limited fungal diseases, but the high temperatures led to small berries and ultimately low yields,’ he says, ‘the Syrah berries looked like blueberries.’ This meant a high skin-to-juice ratio in the grapes, which made for some very tannic wines. Another effect of the hot weather was that some vines shut down and stopped ripening, which can lead to green tannins – further impacting some wines’ textures. So the main question surrounding the tasting was this: will the tannins ever soften and come round? For a good number of the 76 wines I tasted, I suspect the answer is no, they won’t. Those wines aren’t included in my selection. But winemakers that achieved balanced grapes and mastered their tannin management produced some thrilling, chiselled and assertive wines. Key takeaways: Wines for the cellar Those drinking well already are in the minority; even for the wines you could broach today, most will improve with a few more years in bottle. This is a vintage that will reward the patient. Brechet agrees: ‘The 2022 vintage will likely be a great ageing vintage in Gigondas, thanks to the balance of the great high-altitude terroirs.’ He believes his Regard Loin could age for over 30 years, and I wouldn’t bet against him. It’s worth adding that it’s not just the higher elevation terroirs that turned out great wines in 2022; some of the lower altitude plots on the Cône also performed well, such as those from Saint-Damien and Montirius. Most of all, 2022 is a vintage where the best winemakers really rose to the top. [/subscriber-content] Love French wine? Sign up to Decanter's France newsletter here

Best 2022 Gigondas in bottle: 30 wines are listed below, see all 37 of Matt Walls' recommedations here [wine-collection] Related articles Walls: Rhône reds lighten up Walls: Gigondas 2013 and 2014 – time to drink up? Gigondas to produce white wines

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Walls: The best wines to buy from Gigondas in 2022

Scroll down for Matt Walls’ best 2022 Gigondas wines in bottle

Best 2022 Gigondas in bottle:

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