Tasting Notes
JancisRobinson.com 18
Fascinating nose that is both powerful and packed with sweet red fruits. The palate is really well judged, drinking beautifully – secondary leafy notes abound and work really well alongside the juicy and chewy fruit. A vibrant red-fruit note shines through on the finish. The acidity refreshes and revitalises – very good. (AC)
Anticipated maturity: 2006-2026
Robert Parker 90?
Slightly reductive and herbaceous aromatically, the 2001 Côte Rôtie Côte Blonde was better on the palate than the nose, with medium-bodied richness, integrated acidity and a silky, elegant and seamless texture. Given the herbaceous slant on the nose, this isn’t a bottle I’d squirrel away in the cellar and would opt for drinking it over the coming 4-6 years. René Rostaing’s Côte Rôtie Côte Blonde is the smallest production of Rene’s three cuvees (Ampodium, Landonne and Côte Blonde) and comes from his roughly 1 hectare (roughly 2.5 acres) of holdings in the Côte Blonde lieu-dit. This vines here were planted both in 1934, and then later in 1970-1971. It’s the only cuvee to incorporate Viognier, and this variety makes up roughly 3-5% of the blend. While René destemmed more in the past, today, he keeps destemming to a minimum and aging occurs in mostly older demi-muid, with 15-20% being new. There’s a scant 500 cases in most vintages, and it’s certainly one of the Icon wines from the northern Rhône.
Anticipated maturity: 2014-2020
Vinous 93
Good deep red-ruby. Explosive, wonderfully sweet aromas of red berries, bacon fat and woodsmoke. Fatter, sweeter and more opulent than the Landonne, but at the same time finer-grained and even more intensely flavored. Today this comes across as less peppery and more fruit-driven. Very rich and very long on the end. Give this three or four years of additional cellaring.
