2003 Sotanum

Deep red color. Exotic sweet berry and spice tones on the nose, lifted by strong floral and cracked pepper notes. Full, dense and ripe, with fresh cassis and blackberry flavors nicely framed by firm but harmonious acids. Finishes with a chewy quality and notes of dark plum, mocha, licorice and minerals. I'd have picked this blind as Cote-Rotie. (imported by USA Wine Imports, New York, NY, for Pas Mal, Tenafly, NJ) The Southern Rh o ne:

Good full ruby. Aromas of cassis, chocolate, mocha and brown spices. Sweet, rich and rather powerful, with penetrating flavors of roasted black fruits and pepper. The sound acids are nicely integrated with the wine's fruit. Mounts impressively on the rich, broad finish, which features substantial and rather suave tannins. This wine comes from young syrah vines planted by co-owners Yves Cuilleron, Francois Villard, Pierre Gaillard and Denis Chorot in Seyssuel, across the river and upstream from Cote-Rotie. By all reports, the schist soils here are not dissimilar to those found on the Cote Brune. Yves Cuilleron noted that this cuvee is showing the best acidity of the four Vins de Vienne reds he presented to me in November. And it displays the most personality by a wide margin.

The 2003 Sotanum comes from around the village of Vienne, which is north of Cote Rotie and has classic, iron rich soils very similar to those of the northern portion of Cote Rotie. Offering plenty of sweet and sour cherry, cigar wrapper, ground pepper and leather, it’s medium-bodied, nicely balanced and drinking nicely. Enjoy bottles over the coming 3-4 years. eRobertParker.com.April, 2014