2015 Cote Rotie Cote Blonde
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Tasting notes
The first vintage for this cuvée and from relatively younger vines planted in 2010, the 2015 Côte Rôtie Côte Blonde is another gorgeous wine from this young superstar winemaker. Offering beautiful notes of black raspberries, black currants, spring flowers, violets, and incense, with more minerality and deep Syrah meatiness with air, this full-bodied, beautifully concentrated, finesse-driven Côte Rôtie has sweet tannin and a layered, seamless texture that just keeps on giving. Due to its purity of fruit and incredible tannin quality, it's already hard to resist, but do your best to give bottles 4-5 years. It's going to be a 20-to 30-year wine. I was able to taste the 2015s from the incredibly talented Stéphane Ogier twice, once during my visit at the estate, which was just after bottling, and then again from bottles shipped to my office in Colorado. These are ripe, polished, sexy wines from Stéphane that show the purity as well as the opulence of this great, great vintage. The 2016 vintage was compared to 2006 by Ogier, which was a solid, under the radar vintage from the northern Rhône. The barrel samples all showed terrific purity of fruit and balanced styles, and should check in near the top of the vintage. This estate is certainly at the top of its game and readers looking for some of the most profound Côte Rôties out there are advised to get on this estate’s bandwagon.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Josh Raynolds
More reviews and scores
In its first year to return as a single-vineyard bottling, Ogier’s tiny 2015 Cote Rotie La Cote Blonde is a sure hit. Floral, raspberry aromas speak to its elegance, while it’s also concentrated and rich, with a silky finish that lasts minutes.
Opaque ruby. Highly expressive aromas of raspberry and boysenberry liqueur, smoky minerals, licorice and cola. Densely packed but lithe, displaying silky texture and superb clarity to the candied red and blue fruit, floral pastille and spicecake flavors. Seamless and sweet on the impressively persistent finish, where a lively mineral quality adds vivacity and precision.