2019 Cote Rotie Les Grandes Places

This wine comes from a special parcel of ancient (70 to 110-year-old) vines, in the highly revered Les Grandes Places lieu-dit in Côte-Rôtie’s Côte Brune. Here the mica-schist soils are unique, producing Syrah that is extremely elegant, while also wonderfully fleshy. To retain freshness, Champagneux decided to use some whole-bunch fermentation, and the most delicate extraction possible. The wine is then aged for 24 months in one- to four-year-old French oak barrels. The result is a wine with fantastic aromatic appeal. There is a lovely clarity to the red-fruited cherry and raspberry perfume beneath which lies a much darker, brooding nose of smoke, pepper spice and overriding, terroir-driven earthy notes. Made from 70 to110-year-old Syrah vines, the depth, power and concentration to the wine is breath-taking. Black cherry and dark chocolate flavours sit alongside dates, violets, light coffee bean notes as well as a ferrous, mineral touch. The supple tannins are dense, layered and outline the huge promise of the wine. There is so much going on, this will require plenty of patience, but will be extraordinary with five to 10 years in bottle.