2017 Betz Family Syrah La Côte Rousse
Market price
Buying options
Tasting notes
Aromas of meaty cassis and blackberries. Juicy flavours of blackberry and black cherry are bright with acidity and have a sourish, saline quality that, combined with the acidity makes for a mouth-watering package. There's a faint smoky note to the wine. Fine tannins are wispy and only barely textural. Delicious and preposterously easy to drink. (AY)
Critic scores
Jancis Robinson MW
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Bright, dark ruby-red. Musky aromas of black raspberry, blueberry, licorice and wild herbs. Densely packed and fine-grained, conveying lovely inner-mouth violet lift to its cherry and dark berry flavors. Finishes tactile, firmly tannic and long. This juicy, seamless Syrah displays intriguing savory soil tones and a light touch but still needs a couple years to blossom in the bottle. (a blend of four clones; vinified with 30% whole clusters)
The 2017 Syrah La Côte Rousse was made from co-fermenting Syrah with Viognoeir to help lift the nose and add to the structure of the wine. Medium to full-bodied, it boasts beautiful floral notes and a dusty finesse of Red Mountain with a powerful mineral-driven kick that lingers on the focused palate. The La Côte Rousse is finessed and delivers expressive, elegant tart blackberry fruit and soft oak spices, followed by a lingering finish with soft black pepper tones and a rustic, dusty earth essence. Only 450 cases were made.
This has deep-set dark berries, blackberries and dark cherries. Plenty of spice here and black stony nuances. The palate then offers a very plush, strong and long core of deeply ripe dark-fruit flavor. Very bold, rich and even. A blend of 97% syrah and 3% viognier. Drink across the next decade.