2006 Cote Rotie Champin Seigneur
Market price
Buying options
Tasting notes
The 2006 Cote Rotie Champin le Seigneur is slightly better, but it does not measure up to the great success Gerin enjoyed in 2005, 2003, 2001, and 1999. The 2006 offers sweet red currant and cassis fruit intermixed with hints of smoky oak, lard, and bouquet garni. This mid-weight wine is best drunk over the next 5-7 years. Jean-Michel Gerin used to sell 30% of his production in the United States, but when I visited him in late 2007, he was no longer exporting his wines to America. He told me he was not getting paid, and I suspect he is only one of what will undoubtedly be many casualties of the international economic crisis. It is sad to see consumers being denied access to some of the best wines being made in France as well as elsewhere. Importer: Bond Street Imports (www. bondstreetimports.com)
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Josh Raynolds
More reviews and scores
Bright ruby color. Very spicy, with a sexy bouquet of peppery red berries, cinnamon and coconut. Sweet raspberry and blackcurrant flavors are finely etched, with silky tannins adding frame. Finishes brisk and with very good length. "Balance is what makes 2006 a fine vintage," Gerin commented. "2005 is a truly great vintage, but the wines are huge and need plenty of time. If you like finesse, 2006 is for you."
Ruby-red. Exotically perfumed bouquet of oak-spiced red berries, sandalwood and mocha. Lush raspberry and candied cherry flavors are sweetened by vanillin oak and firmed by youthful tannins, which add a taut quality to the finish. Showing its oaky side today, at the expense of its finishing fruit.