2001 Domaine René Rostaing Côte-Rôtie Côte Blonde

Slightly reductive and herbaceous aromatically, the 2001 Côte Rôtie Côte Blonde was better on the palate than the nose, with medium-bodied richness, integrated acidity and a silky, elegant and seamless texture. Given the herbaceous slant on the nose, this isn’t a bottle I’d squirrel away in the cellar and would opt for drinking it over the coming 4-6 years.

Good deep red-ruby. Explosive, wonderfully sweet aromas of red berries, bacon fat and woodsmoke. Fatter, sweeter and more opulent than the Landonne, but at the same time finer-grained and even more intensely flavored. Today this comes across as less peppery and more fruit-driven. Very rich and very long on the end. Give this three or four years of additional cellaring.

A wine of great intensity and lushness with no hard edges is the dark ruby/purple-colored 2001 Cote Rotie Cote Blonde. Sweet aromas of caramel, honeysuckle, black cherry liqueur, raspberries, currants, and subtle notes of toasty oak are followed by a plump, well-textured, opulent finish. I adore this cuvee of Cote Rotie, and it’s a shame more is not produced. Anticipated maturity: now-2014. Rene Rostaing is one of the most masterful growers and bottlers of Cote Rotie. Sadly, there is not much produced. P.S. Pierre Rovani has raved about this wine in the past, and readers should not miss the Domaine du Puech-Chaud from the Coteaux du Languedoc. A Syrah-dominated red, it is a rich, character-filled effort made from Rostaing’s Languedoc-Roussillon vineyards. The 2000 was roaring from the glass when I tasted it in the estate’s Cote Rotie cellars. Robert Parker, Wine Advocate # 147.