2018 Côte-Rôtie Côte Blonde Domaine Rostaing

This is aromatic with a touch of star anise, juniper and cedar alongside incredible, almost imperceptible tannins, but so full and present. It's friendly, open, and ethereal with a long, silky finish but also very ripe in 2018, with slightly raised alcohol. A compelling wine with great finesse and Côte-Blonde style. The winemaking at Domaine Rostaing is now in the hands of René's son Pierre, and it follows the same format for all the Côte-Rôties: four weeks in tank, 18 months in oak, limited new oak, natural yeasts, and as many stems as possible - 100% this year. Drinking Window 2024 - 2037.

A wine that's going to push the upper limits of my scale, the 2018 Côte Rôtie Côte Blonde has a wonderful sense of opulence and elegance paired with huge minerality and power. Giving up primordial notes of perfectly ripe currants, new saddle leather, spice, and wildflowers, it has a magical texture, huge richness and depth, loads of tannins, and a huge finish. It made my pulse jump.

The most tannic of the "big three" bottlings this year, the 2018 Cote Rotie la Cote Blonde features elegant hints of mixed herbs entwined around bold boysenberry fruit. It's medium to full-bodied, with plentiful fine-grained tannins that firm up on the long finish. Embryonic, but oh so promising, it should blossom in another five years or so.

Sexy, mineral-laced black raspberry, cherry compote and floral pastille aromas are complemented by exotic spice and olive flourishes. Sappy and precise on the palate, offering vibrant red and dark berry and candied violet flavors underscored by a seam of smoky minerality. Fine-grained, even tannins sneak in very slowly and meld seamlessly on the strikingly long finish, which leaves behind vibrant spice, red fruit liqueur and mineral notes.

This red has a dark and winey profile, with black currant and blackberry fruit mixed with anise and mesquite, black tea and dark olive. All of this is nicely knit through the mineral-driven, well-structured finish, thanks to terrific mouthwatering acidity. Best from 2023 through 2035.