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Northern Rhône 2020 overall rating: 4.5/5
A reliably fresh, balanced and approachable vintage – a return to classicism after a series of powerful years. Excellent white wines.
Northern Rhône 2020 red wine of the vintage:
Domaine Rostaing, La Côte Brune, Côte-Rôtie 2020
Northern Rhône 2020 white wine of the vintage:
Domaine JL Chave, Hermitage 2020
The main features of the year were drought, heat and a very early harvest. Thankfully there were heavy rains in October, November and December 2019 which created reserves for the vines to draw on.
There were also welcome rains in May and June that helped sustain the plants. The rest of the year, however, was exceptionally dry.
The vineyards roused early thanks to warm weather in March, but mercifully there were no spring frosts here. They held on to this lead throughout the year, resulting in the earliest vintage since 2003.
Scroll down for Matt’s top-scoring Northern Rhône 2020 tasting notes and scores
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See Matt’s top Northern Rhône 2020 tasting notes and scores:
The following wines all scored 94 points or above. Wines are listed white then red in score order.
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