Rene Rostaing Cote-Rotie Classique 1999
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Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert
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Wine Spectator
This still has some time to go, showing a slightly aggressive edge to the black pepper, olive, tobacco and currant confiture notes. Surprisingly dark and grippy through the finish, with lingering tobacco and black tea notes, though this really harmonizes nicely as it airs, so decant or cellar further. An impressive showing for the basic cuvée.--1999 Côte-Rôtie non-blind retrospective.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 1999 Cote Rotie Cuvee Classique (14,000 bottles produced) is a brilliant example that should age well for 15+ years. Its sexy concoction of jammy black fruits intermixed with violets, acacia flowers, cherry liqueur, and creme de cassis jumps from the glass. The wine is exotic and nearly port-like, with sweet levels of glycerin coating the mouth, low acidity, and fabulous concentration as well as purity. It is impossible to resist, but it will last for two decades.
Other Vintages
2001-
Parker
Robert
Today, Rostaing can boast 20+ acres of the finest vineyards in and around Côte-Rôtie. The wealth of vineyard holdings results in an astonishing array of wines. From several parcels of old vines that immediatly adjoin Côte-Rôtie and Condrieu, Rostaing produces a gorgeous non-appellation white and red called Les Lezardes. In Condrieu, he holds a tiny parcel in La Bonnette that yields some of the region’s most refined Viognier. Most of his Côte-Rôtie parcels are blended to produce the Cuvée Classique, a terrific expression of the appellation. And, of course, there are his two prized Côte-Rôtie special cuvées, La Landonne and Côte Blonde.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
The cultivation of vines here began with Greek settlers who arrived in 600 BC. Its proximity to Vienne was important then and also when that city became a Roman settlement but its situation, far from the negociants of Tain, led to its decline in more modern history. However the 1990s brought with it a revival fueled by one producer, Marcel Guigal, who believed in the zone’s potential. He, along with the critic, Robert Parker, are said to be responsible for the zone’s later 20th century renaissance.
Where the Rhone River turns, there is a build up of schist rock and a remarkable angle that produces slopes to maximize the rays of the sun. Cote Rotie remains one of the steepest in viticultural France. Its varied slopes have two designations. Some are dedicated as Côte Blonde and others as Côte Brune. Syrahs coming from Côte Blonde are lighter, more floral, and ready for earlier consumption—they can also include up to 20% of the highly scented Viognier. Those from Côte Brune are more sturdy, age-worthy and are typically nearly 100% Syrah. Either way, a Cote Rotie is going to have a particularly haunting and savory perfume, expressing a more feminine side of the northern Rhone.