TN: 2012 Éric Texier Côte-Rôtie Vieilles Vignes

• 2012 Éric Texier Côte-Rôtie Vieilles Vignes - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie (5/14/2015)
  Never had a better young Rhone. Well, it is chronologically young, but it’s insanely complex and featuring all sorts of the interesting non-fruit elements that you often have to wait a long time for. The Brezeme and St.-Julien-en-St.-Alban wines are such great values here that I have not paid as much attention as I should have to the Cote-Rotie, but this really does offer whole extra dimensions of complexity that justify the tab. It’s got a savory, saline meatiness along with tapenade and sweeter baking-spice elements and all sorts of other things I can’t even begin to put my finger on, but what I love the most about Texier’s wines is how pure and fresh the fruit is. It’s saturating and glossy and dense with natural fruit sweetness as fresh and vibrant as if the berries were being foot-stomped right in the glass. I can’t think of any other producer that pulls off fruit so rich and luscious that’s also so pure and fresh and thirst-quenching that you could be perfectly happy guzzling it through a straw. Needless to say, no leftovers to follow the next day. I bought six more and will cellar some but not all – it’s just too good now not to enjoy some as is. (99 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

Nice to hear from you. How are things in DC? I don;t recall ever having a Texier. I’ll have to rectify that.

Nice note. I’d love to try this.

I loved the 2010 – even more on day 2.

Ha, you wiped out Chambers. And to think I was looking at this a few day ago and now, voila, it’s history!

I used to make this same mistake, then opened a 2006 (different vineyard source) and have been buying ASAP ever since. There is often very little of this to go around (we only got 6 bottles of the 2 cases I ordered).

Robert, along with some other wines we like in common, this is something to just buy every year and not think about it. Speaking of which, if people snoozed on Baudry Croix Boissée and Grézeaux this year, they are probably shut out.

Thanks for the note. I just received some Jamet Cote-Rotie 2012, which I bought out of curiosity. Do you have any thoughts on how these 2 producers compare?

If Keith tastes Texier with David Z, does the earth spin off its axis?

(PS – fantastic note)

The Jamet Cote-Rotie 2012 is a great example of the Appellation and vintage … (and also the TN of Keith seems to prove it, but I haven´t tasted it).
However - Jamet needs a lot of time in the bottle … now 1996/1997 and 2000 are fully mature, 2004 maybe soon, but I will not touch younger vintages like 2009/09/10 for several years … it would be a waste …
For earlier drinking I´d recommend Jamets Fructus Voluptis from younger vines and less fine sites …

I cannot compare Texier and Jamet since I haven´t tasted the former … but Jamet is a traditional structured and ageworthy Cote-Rotie with great depth … (not always the one with the most finesse …)

Both producers make pure soil-to-glass-transfer wines that basically reek of Cote-Rotie. The Texier CR strikes me as showing more vibrant fruit and polish at the moment. With Jamet the structure can be seriously ripping if you open them young.

What do you know about the current vineyard source? I noticed the label doesn’t say Serine like the Brezeme and St. Julien but the web site says 40-70 year old vines which would imply that at least the older ones are serine.

You are right, Nathan, it’s just that the list of “buy every vintage” wines seems to be growing! I’m good on the Baudry, and good call!

Texier’s website if pretty incomplete and not very up to date, I’ve found, so I’m not sure you can rely on it unless it for this unless it refers to a specific vintage.

Well, what happens is that you end up buying about 6-10 producers and that’s it. Simplifies life…

I should be able to answer that since Eric has told me more than once, but I can’t remember and I was probably a bit, shall we say, in my cups.

A singularity will clearly form.

Great note Keith…very lofty praise (not surprising then that CSW is sold out). I have some older bottles…maybe I’ll have to post them on CC to capture the Levenberg bump

Hey guys, how’s the 2010 for current drinking? Coincidentally saw a bottle locally at an unexpected place and thought about trying it. If it’s anything like Jamet normally is though it’s forget about it.

When I had it a year or so ago, it was very young. It would be slightly criminal to drink it now, I think.

The 1999 Texier is drinking wonderfully now. I’m waiting another 10 years on my 2010s.

I know where you saw it and I almost bought it myself. I’ve got a 2006 on deck, so we’ll see.