2014 Cote Rotie

The flagship 2014 Côte Rôtie Maison Rouge comes all from a lieu-dit in the southern portion of the appellation and was fermented with around 20% whole clusters and aged two years in barrel. Beautifully complex and nuances, with notes of framboise, black cherries, bay leaf and loads of spice, this beauty has medium to full-bodied richness, fine, elegant tannin, solid concentration and a great finish. It shines for its elegance, purity and complexity, yet has plenty of fruit. The benchmark estate in Condrieu is unquestionably that of Christine Vernay, who pulls from the magical hillside of Coteau du Vernon located just behind her home. This is pure granite terroir and all three of her Condrieu come basically from this steep hillside. Christine prefers a slightly longer élevage on her Condrieu, with the 2015s being the current release. I’ll review her 2016s next year. In addition to heavenly Condrieu, she makes a terrific set of Côte Rôtie.

Bright purple. A complex, highly perfumed bouquet evokes ripe blue fruits, incense, olive paste and smoky Indian spices and carries a zesty mineral overtone. Sweet, seamless and penetrating on the palate, offering concentrated boysenberry, cherry and floral pastille flavors and subtle cola and vanilla nuances. Plays richness off finesse with a deft hand and finishes impressively long and juicy, with supple tannins sneaking in late.