Rhône 2024 en primeur: Full report and the vintage’s top-scoring wines

Yes, this is it: menthol, firework smoke, deep, dark black fruit and a beautifully silky, lush palate; just outstanding textural finesse. Wonderful acidity, so intense and such drive, direction and focus. The acidity is drenched in black fruit flavours, the tannins are supple, silky and refined. One of the greatest vintages of Le Pavillon. You could drink it young, but it will be at its best from 2038. 80% aged in small foudres, 20% in barriques. From the granitic lieu-dit Les Bessards.

This has more reduction than Franck Balthazar's other cuvées at the time of tasting, as displayed by aromas of flinty smoke. It's also more generous in fruit and darker in fruit character. In terms of its size and structure, this is the most classically styled Cornas of his range in 2024; it has more concentration and power, but it's still light on its feet, with incredible freshness, drinkability and personality.

Smoky bacon and wood smoke. Lovely freshness, very detailed and with pinpoint acidity. Pure, concentrated but not heavy, showing textural tannins on a tight, energetic palate – this feels so alive. Long finish.

Juicy, fresh, blackberry-tinged, vibrant, precise and fresh. Subtle violet note with raspberry, minerals and great length. Will be quite Burgundian with age, feels like a classic vintage and you don't feel the 14.5% alcohol at all. All destemmed, aged in old foudres, yields of just 17hl/ha.

Smoky bacon, morello cherry and cinnamon. Perfumed nose, star anise, cedar. Full-bodied, not fat or heavy. Good sense of precision, very long. The oak work is quite present, so give this time to harmonise. Very fresh on the palate. Has freshness, length, balance – all it needs. Great potential. Grenache planted in 1902 (or earlier) on Miocene calcareous sand. Single vineyard. No destemming. Twelve months maturation in French oak barriques: 30% new, 30% 1-year-old, 30% 2-year-old. Unfiltered.

Very full-bodied, very powerful, very ripe – everything here is intense. Very concentrated for a 2024. It also has the freshness, precision and precision of the vintage and ends incredibly long. No doubting that this is an exceptional wine, with a very long life ahead of it. Grenache planted on limestone marl. Single vineyard. No destemming. Twelve months maturation in French oak barriques: 20% new, 50% 1-year-old, 30% 2-year-old. Unfiltered.

Lovely herbal expression, very fine, almost a Burgundian Gigondas. Strawberry and apricot notes. Very full, juicy, rounded and spherical palate; aerial red fruits. Exceptionally fine, almost imperceptible tannins. Weightless. Perfectly balanced, so will drink well young on the fruit, but it will really come into itself with age. Partly destemmed, aged in demi-muid.

Has the weight and concentration that is lacking from some 2024 Gigondas. The structure is very fine, very well balanced, there are no excesses of alcohol or oak. Very pure. Great freshness. The wine is very introverted at this early stage, which makes it difficult to score this with precision. But it's clearly a brilliant wine by any standards. A blend of all the different terroirs and grape varieties from the estate. Aged in demi-muids, then a further year in stoneware jars. No filtration.

Lovely nose – box wood, dog rose, really perfumed. Bodes well for future complexity. Full-bodied, so generous but wonderfully structured for a pure Grenache with vibrant tannins and great salinity. Amazing freshness and balance, no excess alcohol and no oak to occlude the pure Grenache fruit. Extraordinary. Seven weeks maceration in concrete tanks, 15 months aged in demi-muids.

Pungent intensity on the nose, damson and blackberry. Very concentrated, very powerful. Incredible intensity and drive, this has outstanding vigour and energy. Painfully young, and exceptionally tannic; the quality and nature of the tannins are very fine, just in need of a decade of bottle age. Then this will be incredibly impressive. Seven weeks maceration in concrete tanks, 12 months in foudres. Clay limestone soils.

Incredibly vibrant and defined black fruits. So fresh and juicy, remarkably fruity and generous for this terroir considering the wet start to the vintage. Focused and fresh, very direct with great purity and acidity. Will age well and will always be a chiselled style. From very old vines on granitic terroir. Around 80% aged in small foudres, 20% in barriques.

Unmistakable in its beauty and sheer completeness, this is classic Jamet Côte Brune. Violets, juniper, just-ripe blackberry and exceptionally fine tannins. Lovely texture, cooling and calm, not hugely concentrated but a clear and transparent vintage of great precision that will drink fairly young and provide lovely old bones. Just could do with a bit more flesh, concentration and length perhaps? But so lovely, very much about delicacy, freshness and florals. From a single vineyard that has performed well. Whole-bunch fermented, aged in old demi-muids.

Not powerful, concentrated or strongly structured, this feels like a vintage from long ago, before global warming. Some of the parcels lacked a bit of concentration, but the best had real precision, detail and freshness. The result will be a wine that's all about dynamism and focus rather than tannin and heft. Whole-bunch fermented in concrete tanks, aged in small foudres.

Blackberry, dried blood and thyme aromas. Richer fruit and firmer tannins than his cuvée Juliette; very clean and pure. Has a wonderful surge of acidity, freshness and purity on the finish. Wonderfully expressive and drinkable with cleansing tannins.

Chave's Hermitage usually takes some of its power from Le Méal, but that component, while enjoying some weight and richness, is relatively compact this year. It makes for a bright and focused vintage that's not hugely concentrated but, crucially, is properly ripe. It's a balanced, sapid, mineral year that will provide much pleasure fairly early and into the medium term. Finely sketched tannins create an elegant frame.

Big handful of fresh, squished blackberries. Concentrated, but not heavy, this is compact with so much fruit and great, surging blackcurrant acidity running through it. So fresh, so vibrant and a lovely sense of tension. Only moderate alcohol, the élevage is subsumed by the fruit, and it's not as concentrated or powerful as some years, which is not necessarily a bad thing when it comes to drinkability. This has great purity, great freshness and will age with real detail and transparency. Very long, bright finish. Some vines over 100 years old in the mix. Likely to score around 98 points when bottled.

Dark fruited, powerful, very introverted for now. Very punchy – has great energy, and a mineral drive on the palate. Holding its cards close to its chest for now, but likely to be excellent in time. Very dense, very fine tannins, and unusually concentrated for a 2024. Decidedly tannic – one for the very long term. Very old vines, all whole cluster fermented in concrete, no destemming, indigenous yeasts, and matured 100% in barriques; one third new, one third second use, one third third use.

Raspberry, wild strawberry, pine needles, subtle smoke. Very juicy, plump, attractive on the palate. Really fresh, very fine tannins, such great balance. Not the longest finish, but this is very good indeed. Grown at altitude on limestone marls, partly destemmed, aged in demi-muids.

Perfumed kirsch and pomegranate aromas. Strawberry and wild herbs with air. Full-bodied, juicy, spherical - has the weight and shape of exceptional Grenache. Superfine tannins, bright acidity and only moderate alcohol – this has rare balance and purity. You can drink this now, but it will age gracefully. Limestone mineral buzz. Best Lieu Dit for years. Sandy, shaded terroir, partly destemmed, aged in demi-muid.

Gorgeous nose: violets, blueberries, blackberries. Has substance and considerable weight; it's well concentrated, and has a mass of fresh tannin that grips; slightly denim-textured, it's not totally glassy. Very fresh, with great length and clarity. Not big, but very fine. Composed of 95% Mourvèdre, grown on blue marl and limestone, no destemming, aged in demi-muids.

Amazing nose: cocoa, vanilla pod, cardamom, wood smoke. Medium- to full-bodied, with lovely palate freshness and lovely ripe core to the black fruit. Plentiful tannin, but they're fine; the alcohol is in balance. A great Southern Syrah in the making. Hints of Fonsalette. Pure Syrah grown on Le Cone de la Font des Papes, all destemmed, aged in recent demi-muids.

Incredible nose: a bubbling cauldron of herbs, spices, fruits and flowers. Medium-bodied, not overly tannic like some 2024s. A beautiful wine, so drinkable and fresh. Has intensity, concentration and a lovely fresh edge to the tannins – crisp, fine structure and good length of smoky spicy fruit. A relatively slim 2024, but has tension, salinity and great detail. Planted at the foot of the Cône around their house. 85% foudre, 15% amphora for ageing.

Grassy, floral, perfumed style, albeit lightly reductive at the time of tasting. Full-bodied but only just; no heaviness, very fresh. Juicy and vibrant. Lovely acidity. Great purity and freshness, and also a serious structure. Amazing intensity. Give it time for the tannins to soften and meld; then this should offer immense pleasure and drinkability. No destemming, natural yeasts, fermented in concrete tanks, aged in old foudres.