News & Events

Graeme & Julie Bott are featured in the January-February 2022 issue of Wine Spectator.

TASTING REPORTS

Into The Groove

In France's Rhône Valley, resilient old vines and canny vintners propel success in a string of hot, dry years.

"By the end of July, the vineyards weren't looking that beautiful," says vigneron Graeme Bott, who founded his own domaine in 2016 along with his wife, Julie. "There was a lot of water stress, and some of the vines had started to lose their leaves, even some old vines. The grapes were tiny, the yield was naturally low and the vines were more or less blocked in regard to maturity. We were then blessed with decent rainfall at the start of August, which kicked everything back into action and swelled up the grapes a little, which was well-needed. And then we had a long dry period until harvest."