2017 Cote Rotie Cote Blonde

Just about perfection in a glass, the 2017 Côte Rôtie Côte Blonde is more plush and sexy compared to the La Landonne and has a beautiful, incredibly floral character as well as notes of crème de cassis, mulberries, black raspberries, spice, and new crushed violets. Full-bodied, seamless, and polished, it’s an incredible expression of the Côte Blonde and has its own singular character. Drink it any time over the coming 20-25 years. This was another power-packed lineup from the Rostaing Family, and you can’t go wrong with any of these new releases. The 2017s show the sunny yet also elegant style of the vintage and have beautifully polished, ripe tannins. These wines offer pleasure even today but do your best to give bottles 4-5 years of bottle age, especially the single vineyard releases. Looking at the 2018s, these are largely in the same style yet have slightly more concentrated, structured profiles. My money is on the 2018s requiring slightly more bottle age, but I’ll report on those from bottle this time next year. In addition to the Côte Rôties, don’t miss a chance to try the Languedoc and Collines Rhodaniennes releases. Both represent terrific wines as well as value.

Even better than last year, the recently bottled 2017 Cote Rotie La Cote Blonde was singing when I tasted it back in July. Floral and berry notes accent mocha-tinged aromas in this medium to full-bodied wine. It's silky, long and intense, with a couple of decades of life ahead of it. It's simply difficult to describe the waves of savory complexity this wine now shows, coupled with a succulent texture and tremendous length.

Lots of tannic webbing that makes the palate fairly austere at this stage, and the dark fruit seems hidden at present. Light meatiness on the finish. (RH)