Cote Rotie
Côte Rôtie Wines - Buy Wine from the Côte Rôtie Region of France
A whistle-stop trip to the Northern Rhône last November to sample the prodigious 2009 vintage in its infancy found Joël Champet on fine form, expostulating on the prospects of the French National Rugby team (Les Quinze), the advantages of not employing oenologues, the merits of recent vintages and price disparities in Côte Rôtie. Joël and his son Romain farm 3 hectares of prime vineyard on the Côte Brune lying in one single parcel in the ‘La Viallière’ climat. This is a traditional operation; 5% of Viognier is planted as a field blend among the Syrah vines. There is no destalking after harvesting and fermentation takes place in concrete vats, whereafter the wine is raised in used barrels and 550 litre demi-muids. There is no fining or filtration but there are multiple bottlings, according to their workload and customer demand.
Patrick Jasmin was equally upbeat when we called at his cellars beside the railway in the centre of Ampuis. Patrick tends 11 different plots of vines, totaling 5.3 hectares, that are spread across the length of the appellation, giving him an enviably broad palate of fruit from which to create his assemblage. This too is an estate with a strong respect for tradition, although Patrick has made some notable investments since he took the helm here in 1999 including an égrappoir to de-stem the crop and a cooling system to regulate temperature during fermentation. The grapes from each parcel of vines are separately vinified prior to an initial racking at the end of the year. The wine is then raised in a mixture of new and used 228 litre casks and larger barrels for at least 18 months prior to blending and bottling.
Red Wine