I loved the 2017 Cote Rotie Chateau D'Ampuis. It's a ripe, expressive barrel sample overflowing with notions of black raspberries, cassis, vanilla bean, and incense. Medium to full-bodied, rounded, and silky, it has lots of ripe tannins as well as stunnin...
A complex, assertively perfumed bouquet evokes smoky, mineral-accented blackberry, cherry, olive, violet candy and cracked pepper. Sweet, focused and penetrating on the palate, offering intense black and blue fruit, floral pastille and cola flavors that s...
Precise aromas of dark berry preserves, pungent flowers, pipe tobacco and smoky minerals; allspice and succulent herb nuances build in the glass. Broad, alluringly sweet and youthfully chewy, offering intense blackberry, cherry preserve, fruitcake and bit...
Aged 36 months in new oak, the colossal 2015 Hermitage Ex Voto is up with the finest vintages of this cuv?e to date and is certainly in the same ballpark as the 2009 and 2010. This deep, powerful, muscular Hermitage boasts a saturated purple color to go w...
The 2016 Cote Rotie La Landonne is showing a bit more grip than last time I tasted it, with hints of green coffee bean on the nose alongside ripe black cherries and a heap of dried spices. Medium to full-bodied, with ample concentration and plenty of tann...
Last of the 2018s, the 2018 Hermitage Ex Voto shows a riper, more sunny profile and has a killer nose of ripe blackberries, cassis, spice, game, woodsmoke, and bacon fat. The tannins from Hermitage always have a different feel from the Côte Rôtie releases...
The 2019 Côte Rôtie La Mouline is a bigger, richer Côte Rôtie. Co-fermented with a solid chuck of Viognier and around 85% destemmed (the same as the La Turque), this full-bodied effort has a kaleidoscope-like bouquet of bloody black and blue fruits, tapen...
Picked later than the 2015, the 2016 Cote Rotie La Mouline shows more dark fruit in its profile?think cassis and black olives?plus licorice and peppery spice. It's full-bodied, rich and supple, with a long finish. It may be nearly as good as the 2015, yet...
Inky magenta. Candied cherry, blackcurrant, exotic spices, violet oil and a hint of olive on the powerfully scented nose. Velvety, seamless and alluringly sweet, offering palate-staining, mineral-laced black/blue fruit preserve, floral pastille, smoky bac...