Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Bright and fresh, with lively red currant, bitter cherry and damson plum fruit streaking through, with lovely floral, chalk and savory details throughout. Long, mouthwatering minerality on the finish adds even more energy. Best from 2022 through 2040.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2016 Côte Rôtie Maison Rouge saw a touch of the blend vinified in barrels (30% stems). Its ruby hue is followed by a classic Côte Rôtie that has lots of framboise, spring flowers, exotic spice, and some bacon fat. Medium-bodied, elegant, and lively on the palate, it's beautifully made and well worth following over the coming 10-15 years.
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James Suckling
A single parcel of Côte Blonde, this has very assertive oak influence for now with a swathe of cedar and blueberries, as well as white pepper and cloves. The palate has sleek, fine and upright tannins that carry a fresh, lithe and long red-plum and cherry finish. Power meets elegance here. Try from 2023.
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.