2016 Cote Rotie Cote Brune
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Tasting notes
Riper, darker fruit than their Côte Blonde, with firmer tannins too. Still maintains lift and fragrance, and there's a garrigue herby bitterness on the palate too, leaving a black-olive sort of sourness to finish. You can see how the Blonde and the Brune would complement each other as a blend. (RH)
Critic scores
Average Score
Richard Hemming MW, jancisrobinson.com
Richard Hemming MW, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
The 2016 Côte Rôtie Côte Brune offers a more masculine, heady perfume of crushed rocks, iodine, Asian spice, and cured meats, with plenty of sweet Syrah fruit rounding out the bouquet. Medium to full-bodied, nicely concentrated, deep, and layered, it’s going to benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age and drink brilliantly for 15+ years. This traditionally run family estate pulls mostly from the Côte Brune side of Côte Rôtie. The wines are made by the young Julien Barge, with assistance from his father, Gilles Barge. Both of the 2016s presented showed much better from bottle than barrel, which is always a good sign. It also makes the showing of the 2017s even more impressive. For whatever reason, they opted not to show their Côte Blonde cuvée.
Still aging in demi-muids, the 2016 Cote Rotie Cote Brune is going to be a terrific wine. Yes, it has some cedar and brown sugar touches, but it also has wonderfully ripe red berries to support the oak. Medium to full-bodied, it's creamy and lush on the palate, with lingering espresso notes on the long finish.
Wild herbal notes, green minty character and bitter fruit. Very rustic and not easy to love. Seems a bit bacterial. (RH)