Saint Cosme Cote Rotie 2008

100% Serine (ancient Syrah) planted on schist terroir. Aged 15 months in new oak barrels and bottled without filtration. "Côte Rôtie is often a good subject: its inimitable personality makes people talk! This terroir is the most extraordinary one in the northern Rhone, I'm convinced about this. We keep going with our work on the Ampuis terroirs and 2008 brought this great freshness we always look for. The wine is balanced and has the entire aromatic spectrum going from the empyreumatic smells ending up in the ancient roses. I know exactly when to open a bottle of Côte-Rôtie: it has to be shared with the right person at the right time. It's always a time of joy which gives some meaning to life. This bottle of 2008 is very classical, it's not heavy, it's straightforward, it gets precision, it's open, aromatic and tender. The way 2004 tastes at the moment makes me think that some vintages deserve to get a fundamental right: be judged only after a couple of years, when they get their proper expression. Bacon, cold ash, graphite, coal, violet, rose."