Domaine RostaingCôte-Rôtie Côte Blonde 2018

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.

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.

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.