2002 Cote Rotie

(from the last bottling, in July of 2004) Medium red. Aromas of maraschino cherry, pepper and leather. Supple, fresh and fruity, with good intensity and inner-mouth aromatic character for the vintage. Finishes with some obvious acidity but rather light tannins. Already round and easy to drink. The harvest of 2002 was fairly clean, noted Jasmin, with little rot in evidence when he picked. Potential alcohol was in the 11% range, and the wine in bottle is 12. 4% following chaptalization. The bunches were entirely destemmed, and Jasmin said he vinified "for fruit. " Jasmin likes the balance of the wine and says it's clearly superior to such past weak vintages as 1984 and 1993.