Syrah

wines

From a higher elevation site on the Côte Blonde side of the appellation, the 2018 Côte Rôtie Lancement shines more for its complexity and elegance than sheer power, offering a kaleidoscope-like array of black raspberries, blueberries, spring flowers, violets, crushed rocks, and pepper. A wine that benefits from air, it gains richness and depth with time in the glass and has medium to full body, ultra-fine tannins, flawless balance, and a great finish. It doesn’t have the minerality of the Les Rochins, but it’s just as seamless, elegant, and finesse-driven as they come. This magical Côte Rôtie will benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age and pretty much blow you away over the following 20 years or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDDark, shimmering purple. Displays lively, highly perfumed aromas of fresh black/blue fruits, exotic spices, potpourri and incense, along with mineral and vanilla nuances that gain strength as the wine opens up. Juicy and finely delineated on the palate, displaying intense boysenberry, cherry and black raspberry flavors that are complemented by hints of candied violet, salty olive and licorice. The floral and spice notes carry strongly through an extremely long, penetrating finish that features harmonious tannins and a touch of bitter chocolate. I find the 2017 rendition of this wine to be in a pretty closed-up state but vigorous aeration brings out suave, smoke- and spice-tinged red/blue fruit qualities. I’d keep my corkscrew holstered with this one for a while. (one-third whole clusters and one-third new oak)Vinous Media | 95 VM

Even deeper hued, the black/blue 2018 Côte Rôtie Les Rochins offers a heavenly bouquet of black raspberries, blueberries, smoked meat, chocolate, liquid violets, and crushed stone. With full-bodied richness, a seamless, ultra-fine texture, gorgeous tannins, and a big, mineral-drenched finish, it brings a more masculine, powerful style while staying light on its feet. This is another magical Côte Rôtie from the Garon family that should be snatched up by readers.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDGlass-staining violet. An expansive, complex bouquet evokes ripe, mineral-accented dark berries, licorice, incense, exotic spices and smoky bacon. Broad and alluringly sweet on the palate, offering intense cassis, cherry-vanilla, fruitcake and salty olive flavors that slowly firm up through the back half. Closes on a resonating cherry note, with steadily building tannins and lingering spice and mineral notes.Vinous Media | 95 VMBig black fruit with plenty of smoke on the nose, plus some pepper and raw meat. Rich and quite expansive on the palate with a wonderful balance of ripe fruit and full, fine tannins. They build beautifully at the long, plush finish. So much life ahead of it. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 95 JS

The 2019 Côte Rôtie Lancement is beautiful and a classic representation of this great terroir. Exotic flowers, bacon fat, spice, and red and black fruits define the bouquet, and it’s as Côte Rôtie as it gets, offering medium to full body, a seamless, elegant, yet also structured mouthfeel and a great finish. Beautifully done, it will benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age and have upwards of two decades of prime drinking.Jeb Dunnuck | 96+ JDDeep violet color. Mineral-accented dark berries, cherry-cola, candied flowers and exotic spices the highly energetic nose. Juicy and seamless in texture, offering concentrated black raspberry, bitter cherry and boysenberry flavors that are underscored by a vein of smoky minerality. Deep but vibrant as well, with fine-grained tannins building slowly on a very long, floral-driven finish that leaves resonating blue fruit and spice notes behind.Vinous Media | 95 VMAnother tiny-production wine, with just 1,200 bottles made, Garon’s 2019 Cote Rotie Lancement is built along similar lines to the family’s Les Cochins bottling, utilizing 20% whole bunches and 30% new oak. The Lancement shows more violets and raspberries on the nose, giving it a greater sense of charm, but it still retains a touch of coarseness on the palate, with a rough, open-knit feel; hints of mocha emerge on the finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RP

Gorgeous nose, with dried rose, nutmeg and tobacco leaf. Enjoyably rich and generous on the palate, rounded and soft. There’s a tangy balsamic touch to the berry fruit, that’s ripe but not excessively so. Fairy opulent but not excessive, with a long finish. Aged in barriques for 18 months.Decanter | 95 DECSaturated ruby. High-pitched red and blue fruits, candied flowers and botanical herbs on the highly fragrant nose. Juicy and energetic on the palate, offering appealingly sweet boysenberry and black raspberry flavors that are complemented by suggestions of licorice, vanilla and smoky bacon. Finishes very long and smooth, with repeating florality and rounded tannins lending subtle grip.Vinous Media | 94 VMThe 2019 Côte Rôtie Le Combard comes from a terraced lieu-dit in the southern part of the appellation. It’s another elegant, medium to full-bodied, nicely concentrated wine from this family estate that shines for its balance, purity, and length. Offering more blue fruits as well as ground pepper and some obvious minerality, give it a few years and enjoy over the following 10-15.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JDThere are just 1,200 bottles of the fine, elegant 2019 Cote Rotie Le Combard. Marked by scents of violets, alpine strawberries and ripe cherries, it’s medium to full-bodied, silky and charming, with a lovely hint of black tea emerging on the lengthy finish. It should drink well for at least the rest of the decade.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RP

The only wine from this estate from the Côte Brune side of the appellation, the 2019 Côte Rôtie Les Rochins sports a dense purple hue to go with brilliant aromatics of darker, almost blue fruits as well as notes of crushed stone, graphite, ground pepper, and violets. Rich and medium to full-bodied, with remarkable purity and precision and a sensational finish, it’s another tremendous wine from this family.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDDarker and more brooding in character than their Combard, with blackberry fruits and a touch of cumin. Rounded, more glycerol, this moves slowly in the mouth, it’s broad shouldered and has good depth. The alcohol is just slightly warming on the finish. Very silky, rounded tannins, the oak is quite forthright but is well integrated. Will be very good in time, and issuing from this hot vintage it will always towards the rich side (but not excessively so). Lieu-dit Les Rochains, from the Brune side (mica schist bedrock). Fermented in concrete, then aged in barriques for 20 months, 30% new.Decanter | 97 DECOpaque ruby. Powerful, oak-spiced black and blue fruit aromas show distinctly primary character and pick up hints of smoky minerals, olive, licorice and potpourri with aeration. Broad and fleshy on the palate, offering lush blackberry, cherry-cola and fruitcake flavors and suggestions of vanilla and smoky bacon. Shows excellent clarity and powerful, spicy thrust on the impressively long finish, which is framed by pliant, steadily building tannins.Vinous Media | 96 VMBig black fruit with plenty of smoke on the nose, plus some pepper and raw meat. Rich and quite expansive on the palate with a wonderful balance of ripe fruit and full, fine tannins. They build beautifully at the long, plush finish. So much life ahead of it. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 95 JSThe Garon family has owned this parcel for more than 200 years, but they only replanted it in the 1990s. The 2019 Cote Rotie les Rochins incorporates 20% whole bunches and 30% new oak. The smoke, toast and mocha-laden scents work well with the berry and black-olive fruit in this medium to full-bodied effort. A bit open-knit and coarsely textured, it could use a little time to settle down, but it still looks like a wine to drink on the younger side.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RP