96 point

A seductive, scented and vivid Cote-Blonde with dark cherries, plums, violets and some wild herbs. It's medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins and bright acidity. Plenty of freshness and precision here with crunchy character. A lovely lift of violets adds an ethereal dimension on the palate, carrying through to the flavorful, peppery and lingering finish. Drink or hold.

95 point

Relatively pale this year. It shows a floral expression of violets, and in the mouth it’s light-bodied, fresh and with good acidity. The tannins are much friendlier than La Landonne, it's quite a light and gentle Côte Blonde this year, but the balance is good even if the concentration is fairly light. This will drink well young. It saw four weeks in tank, 18 months in oak, using limited new oak, natural yeasts, and as many stems as possible. The only single-vineyard bottlings in 2021 will be La Landonne and Côte Blonde - and that's if they are not eventually blended into Ampodium.

92/94

Slightly more open and expansive (as usual), the 2021 Côte Rôtie Côte Blonde has a beautiful core of black raspberry-like fruits as well as plenty of floral, spicy, gamey nuances. Round, supple, and medium-bodied on the palate, it brings more charm than most in the vintage and is going to be a terrific Côte Rôtie that will shine with just short-term cellaring.

93 point

Like in 2022, the 2021 Côte-Rôtie Côte Blonde fermented with 100% whole-clusters. Raspberry, cranberry, black cherry, cedar, crushed violets and stemmy undertones are all nicely delineated. Medium-bodied and concentrated, my rating might seem a little conservative, but the 2021 does not possess the same substance or length as other recent vintages. Nonetheless, it offers plenty of freshness and won’t need as much time to come around.