2016 Cote Rotie Les Rochains

Another solid effort, the 2016 Cote Rotie les Rochains—from Syrah planted in 1947—is medium to full-bodied but suave and graceful, with smoky notes of grilled meat and roasted red berries that somehow come across as elegant and refined. Dense and deep, try to give this another year or two in the cellar to develop, even though the tannins are silky enough to make it approachable now.

Brilliant violet. Expansive, mineral-tinged black and blue fruit aromas show excellent clarity and pick up suave floral and spice notes with air. Shows very good depth as well as energy to the sweet black raspberry, boysenberry and violet pastille flavors, which become spicier on the back half. The floral note drives a very long, juicy finish framed by smooth tannins.

My favorite was the 2016 Côte Rôtie Les Rochains, a medium to full-bodied, rounded, opulent 2016 that has loads to love. Blackberries, dark chocolate, smoked earth, and ample mineral notes all give way to a thrillingly textured 2016 that has sweet tannins, no hard edges, and a great finish. This is one classy Côte Rôtie I’d be thrilled to drink. This was another fine lineup from Patrick et Christophe Bonnefond, who make a single Condrieu and three Côte Rôties, the entry level Colline de Couzou, and the two single vineyards, the Côte Rozier and Les Rochains. The Colline de Couzou is always 100% Syrah (as are all the Côte Rôties) and comes 80% from the northern sector (mostly Rozier) and 20% from Tupin and Coteaux de Semons. It’s destemmed and brought up mostly in used oak. The Côte Rozier comes from a site just beside La Landonne, in the northern sector, and sees slightly more new oak, being brought up in 400-liter 25-30% new oak. Lastly, the Les Rochains comes from the oldest vines of the estate on a site located on the southern end La Landonne. It too is completely destemmed and spends 20 months in 25% new French oak (400-liter), with the balance in once used oak. The 2016s here show the classic, elegant style of the vintage beautifully and are a success across the board. All are relatively upfront and approachable yet will age gracefully on their balance and purity. The 2017s show how good Côte Rôtie was in 2017 and are a clear step up, with more volume and depth. These are beautiful wines.