2012 La Rosine Syrah VDP

Vivid purple. Assertive aromas of raspberry compote, floral oils and Asian spices, with a smoky nuance in the background. Fresh, sweet and seamless on the palate, showing vibrant red and dark berry flavors, a lively mineral nuance and good back-end cut. The sweet, energetic finish features supple tannins and an exotic violet pastille nuance. This suave wine will give plenty of Cote-Roties a run for their money.

Coming from a steep granite hillside near the village of Tupin-et-Semons, just on the outskirts of Côte Rôtie, the 2012 La Rosine Syrah VDP is 100% Syrah that was brought up in mostly older barrels. It’s a beautiful wine that, unsurprisingly, bares more than a passing resemblance to a high-quality Côte Rôtie from the southern part of the appellation. Sweet raspberry, licorice, spice and crushed rock-like qualities flow nicely to a medium-bodied, sexy, supple 2012 that has outstanding purity of fruit and a terrific finish. It’s hard to resist now, but I’ve no doubt it will evolve gracefully for upward of a decade. ||I had a fantastic visit with the Ogier family and this estate, now firmly under the helm of Michel’s son, Stéphane Ogier, is crafting some of the most spectacular wines in the appellation. As I mentioned last year, they have new plantings coming on line, and in a move to clearly delineate quality, they’ve introduced three new cuvees in Côte Rôtie (five in total) and have moved the line toward a more Burgundian model of Village, Premier Cru and Grand Cru wines. The Côte Rôtie lineup now includes the Le Village, Reserve, Lancement, Belle Hélène and Côte Blonde. The Le Village incorporates some Viognier and comes both from younger vines and lesser terroirs located near the upper plateau. It’s made to be an earlier drinking, yet classic Côte Rôtie, and it succeeds beautifully. The Reserve bottling is geared to play in the Premier Cru range. It too sees some Viognier, but is noticeably more concentrated and structured. The Lancement, Belle Hélène and Côte Blonde all play in the Grand Cru range. The new Côte Blonde cuvee comes from vines bordering Guigal’s La Mouline parcel, which is just now coming on line. All of these cuvees are distinct, yet still show the house focus on freshness, purity and length. In fact, while Stéphane is always one of the last to harvest, his wines nevertheless always have a beautiful freshness and purity about them. They're never heavy, and dare I say, almost have a Burgundian feel to their acidity and fine tannin structure. |In addition to the Côte Rôties, Stéphane is also investing heavily in the steep, schist soils around the town of Vienne, in the region of Seyssuel. This will be a new AOC in the near future, and Ogier’s Syrah l’Ame Soeur is more than fine example of what’s possible here. |There’s lots going on at this estate, and amid all of the new vineyard developments, they’re also completing construction on a massive new cellar located on the western edge of Ampuis. These are exciting times, and without a doubt, the best is yet to come from this young Côte Rôtie rock star!| eRobertParker.com.December, 2014