Côte Rôtie, Côte Blonde, 2021
One of the great wines of Côte-Rôtie, this should turn out to be a classic. Intense tannic and powerful but finely chiselled and with a certain elegance too. The fruit is clear cut and lively, wonderfully bright but serious flavours of blackcurrant, bramble cherry, sap and cracked pepper, hugely long and clear. A wine of huge potential. Whole bunch fermented, then aged in 10% new oak demi-muid barrels for 18 months.
critic reviews
Like in 2022, the 2021 Côte-Rôtie Côte Blonde fermented with 100% whole-clusters. Raspberry, cranberry, black cherry, cedar, crushed violets and stemmy undertones are all nicely delineated. Medium-bodied and concentrated, my rating might seem a little conservative, but the 2021 does not possess the same substance or length as other recent vintages. Nonetheless, it offers plenty of freshness and won’t need as much time to come around.