Walls: Exclusive first taste of M Chapoutier’s Sélections Parcellaires 2024

Glossaries are normally published at the backs of books. This makes sense: it would be a tedious way to begin any story.

But when talking about the 2024 vintage in the Rhône, it might be useful to start with a list of viticultural diseases and their effects. Because in 2024 the Rhône faced a barrage of problems.

When I met with Maxime Chapoutier to taste his 2024 Sélections Parcellaires on 19 March in London, he told me that it was the toughest growing season he’s ever witnessed.

But his perseverance has been repaid many times over – it’s shaping up to be a fascinating vintage.

Scroll down for tasting nows and scores for the 2024 Sélections Parcellaires wines

Silver linings

The key element that the season revolves around is water; both its benefits, and the problems it can cause.

The last wet year in the Rhône was 2021 and it produced a lot of thin and reedy wines. The style of wine in 2024 is thankfully much riper. That’s because it’s not just the amount of rain that matters, but when it falls.

While 2021 saw rain during the summer months and harvest, it came earlier in 2024 – mostly in winter and spring. It replenished the water table, and primed the season for a strong start.

‘From autumn to spring, you build the quantity,’ says Maxime Chapoutier, ‘from spring to autumn you build the quality.’

But wet weather in March led to problems with flowering in the northern Rhône, known as coulure. It’s rare for Syrah to suffer from this condition – it’s more commonly associated with Grenache in the south. This reduced potential yields by up to 40% in certain places, according to Chapoutier.

Low yields

Ongoing showers in April led to the early arrival of downy mildew. This is a fungus-like organism that attacks both leaves and bunches, causing them to blacken, desiccate and drop off.

Thankfully Chapoutier didn’t see any of the other sort – powdery mildew. This can lead to off flavours, whereas downy mildew principally affects yields, which were further reduced as a result.

By August the rains had stopped, and temperatures hit 35°C – hot, but not as scorching as the heatwave during the previous August, which saw the mercury rise to over 40°C.

By contrast, September was unseasonably chilly in 2024, with some afternoons not even reaching 20°C.

‘The consequence is that the tannins built up slowly and are much finer than in 2022,’ says Chapoutier, which was an exceptionally hot year.

In the north, the Chapoutier team began picking the whites on 19 August, with most being harvested in the first week in September.

Reds started on 12 September, and finished on 4 October – a return to more normal picking dates after 2022 and 2023. Alcohol levels are moderate here, and the wines have fresh acidity.

Maxime says conditions in the southern Rhône were ‘basically the same,’ but given that Grenache is even more sensitive to coulure and downy mildew, yields were even more limited – the domaine’s Châteauneuf-du-Pape vineyards brought in as little as 8hl/ha, a long way off the permitted maximum of 35hl/ha.

Classic proportions

Juicy, fruity, sun-warmed wines are enjoyable to taste and flattering when young – vintages like 2018 and 2023 were delicious on release. But what they can lack is that steadying ‘Old World’ sobriety.

What I enjoyed about Chapoutier’s 2024s is that savoury, slightly austere edge that brings elegance, classicism and drinkability.

The reds were uniformly very good. Maxime is happier with Hermitage than Côte-Rôtie this year – he says Côte-Rôtie suffered a storm around the 19/20 September, so people harvested earlier than they otherwise might have.

All four of Chapoutier’s Hermitage are excellent, faithfully expressing their individual sites. Le Pavillon was particularly impressive – it’s a must-buy.

Vintage insights

Chapoutier has been increasing the proportion of whole bunches in the red Sélections Parcellaires wines to between 15% and 35%, depending on the vineyard.

In general it works well, accentuating freshness and contributing aromatic complexity, though some of the wines will take a little longer to soften as a result. The net effect is positive.

The whites have plenty of extract, giving them intensity and salinity, coupled with good acidity. They exhibit a little less of the struck-match reduction that has been more pronounced here in the past couple of vintages – which may or may not be a good thing, depending on your taste. They are equally as good as the reds this year.

I’ve heard very mixed reports about the 2024s over the past six months, but it was clearly a success at Chapoutier – in quality if not quantity.

But one swallow does not a summer make; perhaps other producers have been less fortunate.

I’ll be visiting the region to taste more widely in October, and will produce a full vintage report in November. But based on these wines, I can’t wait to taste more.

Chapoutier 2024 Sélections Parcellaires:

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