2016 Cote Rotie Les Roziers

Dark purple. Black and blue fruit, floral and spice qualities on the deeply perfumed, mineral-accented nose. Broad and fleshy but lively as well, offering palate-staining boysenberry, cassis, candied violet, chewing tobacco and exotic spice flavors that stretch out steadily with air. Blends richness and energy with a sure hand and finishes with superb persistence, well-knit tannins and resonating mineral character.

Leading off the 2016s from bottle, the 2016 Côte Rôtie Côte Rozier comes from the Côte Brune side of the appellation and has a big core of sweet fruit as well as classic notes of cassis and black raspberries, spice, violets, and exotic flowers. Drink this seamless, medium-bodied, elegant Côte Rôtie over the coming 10-15 years or so. This was another fine lineup from Patrick et Christophe Bonnefond, who make a single Condrieu and three Côte Rôties, the entry level Colline de Couzou, and the two single vineyards, the Côte Rozier and Les Rochains. The Colline de Couzou is always 100% Syrah (as are all the Côte Rôties) and comes 80% from the northern sector (mostly Rozier) and 20% from Tupin and Coteaux de Semons. It’s destemmed and brought up mostly in used oak. The Côte Rozier comes from a site just beside La Landonne, in the northern sector, and sees slightly more new oak, being brought up in 400-liter 25-30% new oak. Lastly, the Les Rochains comes from the oldest vines of the estate on a site located on the southern end La Landonne. It too is completely destemmed and spends 20 months in 25% new French oak (400-liter), with the balance in once used oak. The 2016s here show the classic, elegant style of the vintage beautifully and are a success across the board. All are relatively upfront and approachable yet will age gracefully on their balance and purity. The 2017s show how good Côte Rôtie was in 2017 and are a clear step up, with more volume and depth. These are beautiful wines.

(30% new oak) Bright violet. High-pitched, mineral-accented aromas of black raspberry, cherry pie and violet are complemented by a suave suggestion of exotic Asian spices. Sappy, pliant and alluringly sweet, offering palate-staining black and blue fruit and spicecake flavors and a subtle hint of mocha. Finishes sweet, focused and extremely long, displaying impressively delineated mineral and floral pastille notes and silky, harmonious tannins.