Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Rich and powerful, with real schist character (which makes sense coming from this steep site of pure schist) as well as chocolaty, red and black fruits, the 2022 Côte Rôtie Le Viallière is full-bodied and supple on the palate, with ripe tannins. Dense, structured, and inward, this serious wine will need time. Rating: 96+
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Decanter
Soft impression on the palate, though does have the Viallière elegance and violet aroma. Good concentration, slightly warming alcohol, velvety tannins. Actually quite robust in tannic weight on the finish, but acidity is fairly gentle. From 90-year-old vines, the oldest of the domaine, from which they take cuttings for replantings.
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.