Winemaker Notes
On the palate, it reveals a fresh attack followed by an ample, structured, long lasting finish. The wine unfurls in successive stages and ends with top-quality tannins produced by whole cluster fermentation. It features aromas and flavors of smoked ham, violet, graphite, graphite, and licorice.
Syrah, with its deep flavors and firm tannins, is a natural match for grilled or smoked meat and dishes featuring herbs, roasted mushrooms, and onions. Seared venison or beef with black pepper and thyme or a Moroccan tagine of pigeon or chicken are complimented by the spicy characteristic of Syrah.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A refined, fine-textured and precise Cote-Rotie with aromas of cherries, wild berries, wild herbs, bark and baking spices. Medium-bodied with finely grained tannins. There is a vibrant and spicy character at the center, with a succulent, precise and lively expression toward the long finish. Try after 2026.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Beautiful red and black fruits and floral notes emerge from the 2022 Côte Rôtie, and it's medium to full-bodied, seamless, and incredibly pure on the palate. The tannins are ultra-fine, and it has beautiful balance, purity, and precision. This is a stunning wine that will evolve gracefully.
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Wine Spectator
Alluring and streamlined, with a warm layer of damson plum and blue fruit notes fashioned around a firming spine of iron. No rough edges, but there's plenty of framework to go the distance in the cellar. Hints of warm earth, lavender and juniper detail the harmonious, clean finish. Best from 2026 through 2040. 370 cases imported.
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Vinous
The structured 2022 Côte-Rôtie allures with pronounced notes of black cherry compote, cedar, dried herbs and a touch of vanilla. Inviting and complex, it’s a medium-bodied, tightly knit effort, calling for at least four more years in bottle to come around. This closes with notable length on the savory finish.
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.