Winemaker Notes
The feeling in the mouth is just like 1997: plenty of freshness combined with a soft texture. This combination gives the relief which allows the fruit to be omnipresent. Even if that was not explained enough and understood, 2007 will remain as a great vintage in the Cote-Rotie. I am ready to bet. This wine, just like 1997, will never close, will always taste nice at any time because its aromatic reserve never ends.
Squashed lead, blackcurrant, bacon, roasted coffee, ancient roses. <> Bottled without any filtration.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium to full-bodied, ripe, fresh, elegant, and powerful, with pepper, tapenade, cassis, and olive characteristics dominating its explosive, aromatic nose, the dark ruby/purple-tinged, medium to full-bodied 2007 Cote Rotie is extraordinarily pungent aromatically. That characteristic will no doubt be controversial, and consumers will either love it or leave it. 90-93
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
The cultivation of vines here began with Greek settlers who arrived in 600 BC. Its proximity to Vienne was important then and also when that city became a Roman settlement but its situation, far from the negociants of Tain, led to its decline in more modern history. However the 1990s brought with it a revival fueled by one producer, Marcel Guigal, who believed in the zone’s potential. He, along with the critic, Robert Parker, are said to be responsible for the zone’s later 20th century renaissance.
Where the Rhone River turns, there is a build up of schist rock and a remarkable angle that produces slopes to maximize the rays of the sun. Cote Rotie remains one of the steepest in viticultural France. Its varied slopes have two designations. Some are dedicated as Côte Blonde and others as Côte Brune. Syrahs coming from Côte Blonde are lighter, more floral, and ready for earlier consumption—they can also include up to 20% of the highly scented Viognier. Those from Côte Brune are more sturdy, age-worthy and are typically nearly 100% Syrah. Either way, a Cote Rotie is going to have a particularly haunting and savory perfume, expressing a more feminine side of the northern Rhone.