This may be my favorite vintage yet from this young producer. I’ve really liked his wines since first introduced but always thought this was more of a modern producer though not necessarily using that term in a pejorative fashion. Perhaps something just less glossy than Voge or Paris from Cornas.
This is classic Cote Rotie. Floral nose, bacon and olives, wild red fruits. Some smoke and minerals on the nose as well. Honeysuckle and wax from the Viognier. The palate weight is excellent, lithe but rich, mostly showing spicy red fruits and dark bramble on the finish, black raspberry perhaps. The acidic profile on this wine is more pronounced than some prior vintages, a plus in my book. Chewy, tangy finish. Has a wonderful evolution in front of it.
A year ago I thought the Nose was reserved and the palate kind of clumsy. If I had any more, it would be getting socked away for at least another 5 years, 10+ likely better.
Okay, I know I’m going to catch a ton of shit but stop already, Cote Rotie needs decades of aging before you should even think about drinking it. Last night I met up a buddy who brought a 09 La Turque, great nose and lots of potential but nowhere near ready to drink. Honestly I wouldn’t open any Cote Rotie from this century. And btw my 90 Las Cases was drinking great. Okay, let me have it.
Ha, who cares, it’s a $55 bottle of drink! Just checking in, have lots of it. Zero regrets. And yes, I think you know I generally prefer my wines with age on them. Sadly, my Northern Rhone collection - while deep - is young, mostly 2004 to the present. However, I don’t think some of these modern vintners like Gerard need 20+ years.
Thanks for the note Robert. Need to find some 17’s. Only heard good things about the vintage. Had the 2016 in dec. 2020. Was very good as pop and pour, but then closed down on itself after 1-2 hours. I more or less stopped decanting young wines and just let them breath slowly.
In regards to Côte-Rôtie needing decades to come around, i don’t really agree. Yes the La La’s needs 20+ years. But from what i tasted then i prefer top Côte-Rôtie at 15-20(±) years (like Jamet) and base Côte-Rôtie from good producers with low oak usage at 10-12 maybe. I aim at drinking my Xavier Gerard wines at around 10-15.
I wouldn’t judge aging windows of Cote Rotie by Guigal La Las. They’re entirely their own thing. I had a 2007 Jamet Cote Brune last week that was spectacular and a 2005 Turque a few years ago that (somewhat predictably) drank like fancy lacquer.
I actually have this bottle open right now - either give it lots of air or give it another 5-7 years in my estimation. It’s a bit muted / closed but can still tell this is going to be a great one
This precisely. In Northern Rhône Syrah blind tastings I find Côte-Rôtie easier to pick out as these wines often tend to be a bit more “cooler climate” style of wines - lighter, less ripe, showing less weight and more of that “Burgundian” finesse compared to their southerly cousins.
Yet people are consistently surprised when the labels are revealed as they apparently expect the Côte-Rôties to be the most powerful, concentrated and ageworthy wines - I guess people tend to extrapolate from Guigal La-Las how all the C-R wines should be. Sure, some producers do make similar, extracted and quite heavily oaked wines as well. But if the wines from all NR appellations are made in similar fashion, I think Côte-Rôties come across as lighter and more delicate than those from eg. Cornas or Hermitage. Although most NR Syrahs tend to call for 10-15 years of age before starting to show their best, I really don’t think contemporary Côte-Rôtie is any different or calling for any more age than Cornas or Hermitage.
And, as said earlier, Guigal La-Las are a different story altogether.
I fully agree. I often find the Côte-Rôtie’s to be the most light elegant expressions of NR Syrah. Probably because of its Northern location, but in some wines i think the added Viognier can add to the perception as well. A very good example for me is some of the Barge wines. My last 2013 Coeur de Combard was pure elegance!
