THE VERDICT

The 2010 vintage was one of the most hyped vintages at the time in the northern Rhône’, Matt Walls recalled. ‘It was the most impressive vintage I’ve ever tasted young.’ But, 10 years down the line, how has the evolution of these wines progressed? Are they ready to drink, to keep, or simply past their best?

Walls remembered that ‘for such a structured vintage, I didn’t know when the best time would be to drink them’, and Christian Honorez also had his doubts at first, believing this tasting might be ‘quite limited’. ‘For me, uniformly I thought the 2010 vintage was better in the southern Rhône,’ he said, ‘but today I’ve changed my mind – it’s just as good and exceptional in the north, or even possibly better.’

On this occasion, the results seem to speak for themselves, with an impressive one Exceptional and seven Outstanding from a relatively small sample size of 33 wines submitted. ‘Quantity is one thing, and quality is another, and the quality was there today – the ratio is the best I’ve ever had in a tasting,’ said Honorez. Tanguy Martin agreed, believing he had some of the best flights of wine in his Decanter tasting experience.

Walls emphasised it further, commenting: ‘The exceptional wines we tasted today were probably the best I’ve ever tasted in a Decanter panel tasting. Every wine was good and some were great, particularly in Hermitage, where the quality was greater than the other two appellations.’

Honorez concurred, believing that the Hermitage wines as a group ‘were just incredible’. He continued: ‘I’ve tried young Hermitage many times, and I’ve always struggled to find the level of quality that we had today. The consistency there was far greater than we found elsewhere.’

While there were only six wines from Cornas,