2017 Cote Rotie La Chatillonne Cote Blonde
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Tasting notes
Full bottle 1,309 g. Vidal-Fleury's flagship wine. It's polished to the enth degree – no rough edges, and indeed no edges at all on this wine. The tannins have been smoothed away into an almost invisible background. A touch of menthol and liquorice cough medicine along with bitter cherry, coffee and chocolate notes. There is certainly a lot here, but something is missing – a bit like a botoxed face. The unnatural smoothness has given it a bit of an expressionless, vacant, weirdly wooden impression. But it does maintain a sense of Côte Rôtie, a bit like a botoxed face manages to look real. It depends on whether you like the airbrushed vibe or not. (TC)
Critic scores
Average Score
Tamlyn Currin, jancisrobinson.com
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
The 2017 Côte Rôtie Cote Blonde La Chatillonne shows the pretty, sunny style of the vintage and brings medium to full-bodied aromas and flavors of black raspberries, cured meats, exotic spices, and dried flowers. It doesn’t have the density of the 2018, but it’s just a classy, complex, incredibly satisfying Côte Rôtie to drink any time over the coming 15+ years.
Four years on, the 2017 Cote Rotie la Chatillonne Cote Blonde is drinking surprisingly well, with concentrated blueberry and vanilla notes framed by ripe, supple tannins. Full-bodied and rich, it finishes with mouthwatering acids and a soft dusting of tannins.