I really enjoyed this 2021 Côte Rôtie that I picked up from Kermit Lynch. I’m relatively new to wine as Im 21 but spend lots of time in Canada every year with family where the drinking age is lower.
I watched the GuildSomm video on the Northern Rhône wines and was fascinated by the fact that in Côte Rôtie they blend Viognier into the Syrah. I picked up the bottle from Kermit Lynch with the most Viognier to try and get a good sense of what qualities this may add to the wine.
The primary note I tasted was tart cherry. Almost cranberry like. I might also describe some hints of raspberry. I was shocked by the acidity of the wine. I love sour foods and drinks but I do think that others may find this to be too sour. Does this come from the lack of age in the wine? Or is this to be expected from a Côte Rôtie? I would love any guidance/wisdom that others can offer.
by VelkoZinfandel
6 Comments
Syrah and cote Rotie especially usually is dark fruits, black pepper, bacon fat, and black olives to it. The more viognier blended, I’ve heard winemakers say, will lift the aromatics. So those dark fruits turn more blue fruit and purple flowers.
There’s an alchemy in blending and cofermenting especially.
The Faury Saint-Joseph is some amazing QPR as well.
The Viognier can add aromatics but it’s really about color. I can’t recall the chemical science specifically but the viognier brings more of what causes pigment to stay in wine and creates deeper coloration.
I can smell the smoked bacon and bloody iron notes from here. And am completely jealous.
Beautiful stuff by an amazing producer. Don’t second guess your notes too much. First of all, it doesn’t matter what “color” fruits you got so much as the general character, and it makes sense this would be really fresh and acidic. Classic cool climate Syrah from a very classic style producer will have plenty of energy, And on top of that 2021 was a very very light and cool vintage, making much brighter and smaller scaled or maybe even red-fruited wines than usual with less dark fruit. I’ve definitely had a few solid Northern Rhone Syrahs and even cool climate California syrahs that were mostly red-fruited, even if they were in the minority. If you loved it this much in a “poor” vintage definitely keep an eye out for more of their wines, Faury is one of my top few and they’re amazingly underpriced for the quality.
As a side note, to answer your question about acidity and aging, acidity itself wouldn’t really fall away until a very very long time has passed, It’s more the tannins and freshness of fruit that will gradually fade, making the wine a little silkier texturally, and leaving more room for earthy or savory components other than the fruit. It’s very far from an exact science of course.
Next time, try the wine with a little food. Gouda (not smoked) and crackers is simple and goes well with almost any wine. That will help to soften acidity and or tannins in what may be a wine that needs a bit more age or oxygen at the moment. Taste the wine first, if you find it too acidic or whatever, have it with a little food and you will likely be much more pleased with the results. This is especially true with European or Old World style wines which are generally elegant and better with food. New World style wines are usually somewhat immoderate and are better on their own as they tend to over power food. It can go both ways, too, strongly flavored or overly rich food can overpower a delicate wine. Trial and error.
It sounds like you’re still building your palate and how you understand what you’re tasting. This just takes time and focus but Cote Rotie is very complex and difficult to understand as it meshes multiple niche taste categories, especially with some viognier. It makes sense as others have said to get some tart red and dark fruit from this wine but that’s not a classic profile.
I would focus on the extreme ends of the following wine tasting spectrums such as these examples:
Fruit: red (light 12-12.5% alc Burgundy pinot, medium 13-14% alc Chianti sangiovese and heavy 14.5-15.5% alc piemonte nebbiolo) to purple (light Beaujolais gamay, medium Mendoza malbec, and heavy Barossa shiraz)
Spice: earthy (red Etna Rosso to purple Cornas syrah with low new oak) to oaky (redder Rioja to darker Napa with high new oak)
Syrah can be tricky, I’d try some very light and purple Beaujolais noveau and darker earthy stuff from Cornas so you clearly see the extreme sides of some of these spectrums before a lighter St Joseph / Cote Rotie.
Happy hunting!