TN: 2009 Cote Roties (and a few others)

WINE TALK
1

2009 COTE ROTIES (AND A FEW OTHERS) - Trent’s (11/28/2012)

Last night my tasting group met to taste 2009 Cote Roties. This is a step up for this group which tends to look more for values. Its hard to find those in Cote Rotie. That said, I think we all were blown away by the quality. While we might not be drinking these wines every day, it does make sense to buy a few for the cellar.

In general, I was surprised by how open the wines were. Of course, young, but they all had vibrant fruit, especially on the palate, and drank wonderfully. They also had a great acidity. Very bright, it helped bring out the fruit expression of the wines. Our host threw in a couple of bonus 06’s to the group as well as the starter.

All the wines (except the last one) were served blind and consumed over 3 hours or so. Breads and great cheeses were served.
A starter white:

  • 2010 E. Guigal Condrieu - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu
    Golden in color. The nose is great. Waxy, honey and lemons. On the palate, this starts out slightly bitter and then is followed by a burning oak astringency. I seem to be more susceptible to this than some as only about half the group agreed with me on this. I am not a fan of these wines. Perhaps the oak integrates with time, but then a lot of the fruit is lost. I love that nose though. Anyway, having had this more than a few times, I was able to nail this one blind. (87 pts.)

2009 Cote Roties (and a couple of 06’s)

  • 2009 Bernard Burgaud Côte-Rôtie - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
    This was mine and the groups last place wine. It is still an outstanding wine. Purple/ruby in color. The nose is earthy, meaty, and with slight black raspberries. There is a fair amount of oak on the palate. Also some boysenberries. (90 pts.)
  • 2009 Mathilde et Yves Gangloff Côte-Rôtie La Barbarine - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
    Purple/ruby in color. The nose is meaty, slight mint notes. Also a bit of black olives and black raspberries. This is thinner in body but really good. It has this bright acidity with black raspberry fruit that is delicious. Long finish. This improved with food even more. And the label has a naked woman on it. (93 pts.)
  • 2009 Domaine de Bonserine Côte-Rôtie La Viallière - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
    Ruby/purple in color. The nose is meaty with black raspberries and a slight mint note. Nice acidity. Lots of tannins. Black raspberry fruit. This got three first place votes (not mine), so there was something there. (92 pts.)
  • 2009 François Villard Côte-Rôtie Le Gallet Blanc - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
    Purple/ruby in color. There is a lot of stink here. Serious barnyard. Also some earthy/scorched earth notes. Nice texture for the most part although there are slightly drying tannins. Nice black raspberry fruit. Very interesting wine. (93 pts.)
  • 2006 M. Chapoutier Côte-Rôtie La Mordorée - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
    Purple/ruby in color. Slight barnyard nose here. Also black raspberries. This is tight. Great texture. Lots of tannins. With time and air, it opens to show depth and nice boysenberry fruit. This needs more time than most.I was surprised to see this was an 06. (93 pts.)
  • 2009 François Villard Côte-Rôtie La Brocarde - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
    I liked this more than most. Purple/ruby in color. There is a barnyard note that some described as fecal. I didn’t find it that bad. Also plenty of black raspberries and a slight tarragon. Medium bodied. This is young with firm tannins. Nice boysenberry fruit. Very food friendly. I loved how spry it is with bright acidity and great fruit. (94 pts.)
  • 2009 Patrick & Christophe Bonnefond Côte-Rôtie - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
    This was my WOTN although not the groups. Purple/ruby in color. The nose has black raspberries and tarragon. Great texture. Very smooth. Black raspberries. Great acidity. Long finish. Loved this. (95 pts.)
  • 2009 Domaine de Bonserine Côte-Rôtie La Sarrasine - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
    The group’s WOTN (my #2). Purple/ruby in color. The nose is black raspberries, scorched earth with a dusty quality. I wondered if this might be Californian. Great texture. Firm tannins. Nice acidity. Black raspberries with precision and depth. 6/9 of us had it in first or second place. (95 pts.)
  • 2009 Rene Rostaing Côte-Rôtie Cuvée Classique Ampodium - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
    Purple/ruby in color. I thought this was the most backward of all the wines. Very tight on the nose eventually showing black raspberries, black olives and some mint. This is a big wine on the palate. Black raspberries with big tannins. Nice acidity helps to break it up. (93 pts.)
  • 2006 François Villard Côte-Rôtie La Brocarde - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
    The most obviously older wine in the group. Probably drank and certainly looked older than I thought it should. Ruby/purple/brown in color. The nose has black raspberries, camphor and anise. On the palate, a sweet-tart note of black raspberries. Great acidity. Open and drinking well right now. This got a couple of first place votes. (92 pts.)

Bonus wine

  • 1999 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Château d’Ampuis - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
    This was opened after the tasting was over to see how well Cote Roties can age. Pop and pour. This is still very youthful and not yet at peak. Purple/ruby in color. The nose is expressive with black raspberries, black olives and very deep. It is amazingly smooth. Drinks so easily. Great depth and complexity but packed very tightly. Black raspberries. Not the acidity that the 09’s have but well balanced in its own right. Beautiful wine. (96 pts.)

One of the best tastings this group has held. The 09 Cote Roties are the real deal and worth buying as much as your budget will allow.
Posted from CellarTracker

2

That’s 2009 in the Northern Rhone – lots of fruit and quite approachable.

3

Sounds like a great time…my allegiance is squarely in the North for 2009, looking to get some more in stock.

4

Loren, Not a word about oak in your TNs? Last Jan. when I went to the Marche in Ampuis I could not find a wine to buy as they all tasted way too new world for my palate. After 10 years of going in Jan. I vowed never to go again, as Cote Rotie just ain’t what it used to be…

5

What Everett said. I’d expect nearly all of these except the Burgaud to be marked by new oak elevage – surprised that the Burgaud is the only one that showed any!

6

Loren,

Interesting notes and thanks for sharing. A few quick questions/comments:

Were these wines pop and pour or decanted? And are your notes based on tasting them at 3 hours (end of tasting) after revisiting or upon first trying them? Reason I ask is that to me, many of these wines truly shine after a really really long time in glass, and even though they are beautifully aromatic, their ‘chalky tannins’ tend to overpower upon pop and pour . . .

I noticed a few wines had significant brett issues that you noted - did these increase or decrease as the wines sat open? And I wonder what the ‘collective scores’ would be on these wines as it sounds as if some there really don’t dig brett . . .

Cheers!

7

I’ve bought three '09 Cote-Roties, two from Levet plus Benetiere - they’d be safe bets for you…

8

Anyone know usual new oak percentages on Cote Rotie producers? Am not aware of their ‘historical’ or ‘current’ practices in general.

Thanks!

9

It’s all over the map. Some use none, some use 100%, many are in between.

10

Larry - You asked that same question three weeks ago and I responded:

“New oak practices vary widely. Through the 80s, few people that I can recall apart from Guigal and Rostaing in Cote Rotie used a lot of new oak, and many producers aged at least some of their wines in casks bigger than 225L. Chestnut barrels were also used some at least to the 70s or 80s. Now many producers do use 50% or more new oak, particularly for their top vineyards or special bottlings. But many top producers do not aim for new oak (e.g., Chave replaces his barrels on a five-year rotation, so the wines get 20% new oak).”

11

These were opened at allowed to breath, not decanted at 5:45. We served the white at 7:30 and the reds were poured at 8:00.

I didn’t find the oak problematic on the reds. I probably should have mentioned that in my note about 2009 Domaine de Bonserine Côte-Rôtie La Viallière as it had the most of the reds. I can tolerate some oak, but not a lot. None of these were an issue for my palate. There is a lot of fruit and acidity to go along with them and perhaps that “balanced” them for my tastes.

I take my notes during the course of the evening and try to synthesize it into one (semi?) coherent note. I find that the tannins often increase with air on young wines. A tasting note, especially on a young wine, is always a moving target. These all got better in the glass over the course of the evening. The barnyard components stayed present in the wines that had it. I am not sure if it was brett, reduction or some combination though. Certainly, there was some reduction on a couple of these, but I would have expected that to blow off. How quickly this happens, as you know, can vary.

12

I did taste Levet’s in Jan. and it was one of the more traditional ones at the Marche. Levet has really cleaned up his cellar as his wines used to smell like they were made in an outhouse. Never had Benetiere, though as its never been poured there. I’m a big fan of Eric Texier’s Cote Rotie.

13

John,

Thanks for posting - and sorry for the re-ask. I guess I should have paid more attention the first time!

Cheers!

14

Nice notes. I particularly find the note on the 2009 Domaine de Bonserine Côte-Rôtie La Sarrasine interesting, as their 2008 is probably one of the worst Cote Roties that I’ve ever had. I totally wrote them off, but would now give them another try.

[cheers.gif]

15

Their 2004 sucked as well, as I wrote them off.

16

In what way?

17

I loved this tasting. Just some brief thoughts as I clearly was the rogue taster of the night. The first place wine was my last place and my 1st and 3rd favorites were both from the 2006 vintage. (excluding the 99 Champuis which came later in the night). All had a nice streak of acidity; an approachability to them; and outside of perhaps one producer, no signs of overt oak.


10 Guigal Condrieu - totally agree with Loren. Great nose but the heavy framing of oak on the backend was distracting. Nice lemony aromas with rich mouthfeel. 88/89

09 Bonserine La Sarrasine - It did not engage me. Clean nose, but quiet. Easy on palate. lacked intensity. medium body. Bit green and some sweat. 88/89pt. 10th place.

09 Bonserine La Viallere- This was better but still my 7th place wine. Ripe nose of black cherry fruit. Excellent fruit on palate. Well built wine but has international style. Oak on nose. Thought is was made in California. 91pt.

09 Bonnefond Cote Roziere- clean nose. watery mouthfeel. Bit shut down and hollow on palate. Plenty of tannins. 88/89 pt (9th place)

09 Bernard Burgaud- based on color this was the inkiest, most dense wine of the night. Powerful, well built wine, yet one dimensional. Seemed to lack the depth & personality when compared to others. 6th. 91pt

09 Rene Rostaing Ampodium- clean nose. Deep ruby color, clear. This has lots of acidity. Very good structure & plenty of upside potential. A monster wine. 5th

09 Francois Villard Le Gallet Blanc- opaque, garnet color. Nice aromatics! Tar, some barnyard, dust and sour cherries. Yum! This is delicious. Long extension of flavors. Soft approachable finish and just a well balance wine. My favorite of the 09’s. 94pt

09 Francois Villard La Brocarde- opaque, garnet. Quiet nose and plenty of tannins. 8th place (88/89) pt

06 Francois Villard La Brocarde- Opaque. Cloudy with orange rim. Indeed it did look much older than it was. With air this opened with a gorgeous nose with a nice focus of fruit. Excellent complexity on palate. Nice smoky notes and tar. Awesome length after the finish. My WOTN. 94/95pt.

06 Chapoutier La Mordoree- very intense. Some menthol. Smoky notes and great acidity on palate. Very flavorful wine and just delicious. 93pt.

09 Gangloff La Barbarine- Great nose. Very open tonight. Nice smoky notes.Nice acidity. In my limited experience, this has the personality that I anticipate in a N. Rhone. Another delicious wine. 93pt

99 Guigal Ampuis - beautiful color. Intense nose of black fruits and smokiness. Very youthful. Has more of a velvety mouthfeel than all the rest. Beautiful. 94

18

Only '09 I’ve had was Jean-Michel Stephan’s standard cuvee. Some notes of blood-rare steak, and it has me thinking about Brett.

What do you think lab results would find for most of these wines? It’s fascinating to talk to, say, California producers who simply find most of the Northern Rhone unclean. One winemaker who asked me not to use his name said, “It’s hard to figure out what Syrah really does in Cote-Rotie, because it’s always buried under Brett.”

I replied that I think some of the rustic notes are not at all Brett-related, but more tied to the place. Not every non-fruit note is Brett, of course. Olive tapenade, leather, grilled beef. But certainly some could be Brett-related. Cellartracker notes are all over the map on what people think is pure Bret; others tend to think of it as regional character.

Loren, do you suspect most of the wines were Brett-free or not?

The biggest objection to Brett that I have is that it’s hard to control in bottle, particularly with light or no filtering. But that’s another discussion.

One other point: I agree with Loren in that most CR is hardly buried in oak these days. Or perhaps I find that what is oaky in the new world is different in places like CR, where good fruit handles the wood more seamlessly. As good winemakers say, a wine showing a lot of oak is probably not over-oaked, but under-wined.

19

Evan, we’ll just have to disagree about this. In my experience tasting Cote Rotie has never been about fruitiness until the last few years. Iodine, roasted minerality, a meaty or umami character is what was unique to the wines from Cote Rotie. Is Brett found in some wines, sure. Its found in plenty from CA made by good winemakers too, but its not responsible for the unique character of syrah grown on the steep hillsides of the Cote Rotie appellation. You’ll have a hard time finding that character these days. I tasted over a hundred different bottles of CR in Ampuis last Jan. and most could have been syrah from anywhere. If I’m looking for a rich fruity syrah, there are plenty of good ones made in CA, Joey Tensley’s stands out in my mind. Taste some syrahs cellared in neutral oak and you’ll find some taste “woody” without ever being exposed to any toasted or new oak, its just the nature of the grape. Add any oak spice and it just amplifies this character and it overwhelms the influence of terroir. No disrespect meant but your last statement that a wine showing a lot of oak, is under-wined is right out of Robert Parker’s mouth. In typical cooler vintages, Cote Rotie can be very burgundian in style and delicate. This is completely lost these days as most vignerons there go for maximum extraction, heavyness and density so they can put it in new oak for the international market. If you can find it, try Eric Texier’s 08 Cote Rotie as an example of what I’m referring to in a young wine. If you’ve ever tasted a wine from Gentaz-Dervieux that’s still the benchmark for classical mature Cote Rotie.

20

Evan, I think most of these are Brett free, but, these were just bought and shipped in cold weather. Sometime a wine can have Brett but it has not bloomed in the bottle due to good storage. Syrah can have a reductive quality at times. For me, the key is if it blows off or not. While it is debatable if Brett blows off (I dont want to dredge up that discussion), reduction, if not too prominent, can blow of quickly. That said, if these were sent to a lab, at least for a couple of them, I wouldn’t be surprised if they had Brett, but not the majority.