2020 Cote Rotie Cote Brune
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Tasting notes
A completely different beast, yet every bit as good, the 2020 Côte Rôtie Côte Brune reveals a dense purple hue to go with powerful, layered aromatics of black and blue fruits, iron, rose petal, violets, and pepper. Where the Côte Blonde is expansive and sexy, this stays incredibly focused, with remarkable purity, perfect tannins, and a finish that won't quit. Hats off to the team at Rostaing for another monumental Côte Rôtie that I wish every reader could taste. Hide bottles for 7-8 years and enjoy over the following 20-25+ years.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Josh Raynolds
More reviews and scores
Dark purple color. Hugely perfumed, mineral-accented black and blue fruit preserve, exotic spice, espresso, olive, smoked meat and incense aromas show superb clarity and pick up hints of mocha and candied licorice with aeration. Sweet, chewy and penetrating in the mouth, offering densely packed boysenberry, cherry liqueur, fruitcake, bacon and espresso flavors and a touch of salty olive paste. Shows outstanding energy on the strikingly long finish, which features youthfully gripping tannins and resonating floral, blue fruit and smoky mineral qualities. Made with whole clusters.
Another enormously impressive barrel sample, the 2020 Cote Rotie Cote Brune is dark and plummy, with overtones of black olives, espresso and crushed stone. Full-bodied, concentrated and rich, it's dense, velvety and long on the finish. It's not as flattering to taste currently as the Cote Blonde, but it will be interesting to watch how the wines evolve over time—expect them to run neck and neck for a couple of decades.