2016 Cote Rotie Les Rochains

Lastly, the 2016 Côte Rôtie Les Rochins sports a deep, inky color and a huge nose of crème de cassis, black raspberries, beef blood, bacon fat, and Asian spices. This total thriller of a wine is medium to full-bodied, has ultra-fine tannins, a stacked mid-palate, and a great finish. Drink it any time over the coming 15+ years. This is another estate that’s slowly passing to the next generation, with sons Kevin and Fabien taking more of a lead role these days. Winemaking is largely traditional, with small amounts of destemming, a long maceration, roughly 18 months in 20-25% new oak (which is both shorter and less new oak than in the past), and bottling occurring with no fining or filtration. While both vintages reviewed here are incredibly strong, the 2017s are the finest wines I’ve tasted from the domaine.

(40% new oak) Bright violet. Smoke- and mineral-accented aromas of dark berries, cherry pie and vanilla, along with a hint of olive in the background. Supple, broad and sweet on the palate, offering concentrated black raspberry, spicecake and violet pastille flavors and a snap of smoky minerality on the back half. Shows impressive energy and detail and reveals no rough edges. Finishes velvety and quite long, displaying excellent focus, even tannins and lingering spiciness.

(20% whole clusters and 30% new oak) Opaque ruby. Heady, spice-accented black and blue fruits, incense, vanilla and floral oils on the assertively perfumed nose. Sappy and expansive on the palate; bright acidity adds cut to the deeply concentrated cassis, boysenberry and violet pastille flavors. Closes sweet, smooth and impressively long, displaying slow-building tannins and lingering smokiness.