2022 Cotes du Rhone
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Tasting notes
A serious, well-crafted and lively Cotes-du-Rhone that shows notes of wild berries, dried herbs and baking spices. Medium-bodied with fine tannins. Velvety texture on the palate with bright acidity. So crunchy, vivid and transparent, with a flavorful and spicy finish that has excellent length. Drink or hold.
Critic scores
Average Score
Alistair Cooper MW, jancisrobinson.com
James Suckling
More reviews and scores
The 2022 Côtes Du Rhône is clearly better, with a more medium to full-bodied, round, textured style. It's a classy, old-school effort (the abv is 11.5%) that has some gamey blue fruits and mulberry nuances, plenty of peppery, violet notes, ripe tannins, and a great finish. I was thrilled to be able to retaste the 2020s during my visit with Pierre-Marie Clape, and it’s safe to say I underrated these last year. They’ve have morphed into heavenly wines that are unquestionably in the same league as the estate 2010s, 2018s, and 2019s. The 2021s here have pure, classic, old school-like profiles with more moderate concentration and depth, but good balance as well as length. Harkening back to wines from the 1980s, they’re already approachable yet should have 10-15 years of interesting drinking.
A wild nose with some meatiness and spice. Lots of freshness here, too. The tannins are marked yet fine. This is rich and powerful but certainly not over the top – youthful, juicy and lively. (AC)