2014 Côte-Rôtie Ampodium Domaine Rostaing

Bright violet. Heady, smoke-tinged blueberry, cherry and violet aromas pick up a hint of olive as the wine opens up. Sweet and energetic on the palate, offering concentrated dark berry and floral pastille flavors complemented by a suggestion of spicecake. The impressively long, blue-fruit-dominated finish delivers strong minerally cut and fine- grained tannins that sneak in late and add shape.

This is the sole cuvée he made in 2014 - he describes the vintage as "assez catastrophique". Earthy and bright, just a tiny bit green on the nose but not problematically so. Juicy fruit on the palate alongside lightly grainy tannins. Very classic, not terribly long, but will make good mid-term drinking.