The Northern Rhône produces the world’s most complex and balanced expressions of Syrah. Particularly in Côte Rôtie, at the region’s northern limit, the wines combine inky, black, masculine fruit with extraordinary lift and finesse. Our producer in Côte Rôtie is Christophe Bonnefond, who seems to make more impressive and well-balanced wines each year.
Praise continues to pour in for the Domaine Patrick & Christophe Bonnefond. Their Northern Rhône reds are pure syrah, and display an exquisite balance of texture, fruit, subtlety and depth. The wines continue to improve each year -- Josh Raynolds of Vinous declared his tasting this year “the single most impressive set of bottlings I have had here.”
The impossibly steep hillsides of the Côte Rôtie seem like the last place in the world to grow vines. With slopes reaching 60 degrees in places, all field work — planting, pruning, treating, harvesting — must be done entirely by hand. Every time we visit we wonder aloud what on earth would drive people to plant vines here.
Patrick and Christophe Bonnefond’s wines somehow keep getting better. They’ve enjoyed a string of excellent recent vintages in the vines, but they also seem to be hitting their stride in the cellar. Once firmly in the ripe, oaky, “extroverted” camp that made them a darling of Robert Parker, the domaine has shifted towards subtler expression in recent years: less time…
Praise continues to pour in for the Domaine Patrick & Christophe Bonnefond. Their Northern Rhône reds are pure syrah, and display an exquisite balance of texture, fruit, subtlety and depth. The wines continue to improve each year -- Josh Raynolds of Vinous declared his tasting this year “the single most impressive set of bottlings I have had here.”
In much of the world, Syrah is a powerful grape that produces soft wines with jammy fruit and low tannin. But in Northern Rhône Valley, the grape takes on an entirely different style. Grown at its northern ripening limit, Syrah finds a more elegant and balanced expression on the steep banks of the Rhône River south of Lyon.
The Northern Rhône produces the world’s most complex and balanced expressions of Syrah. Particularly in Côte Rôtie, at the region’s northern limit, the wines combine inky, black, masculine fruit with extraordinary lift and finesse.
The concept of terroir underlies nearly everything in French winemaking. French winemakers prize a wine’s expression of “somewhereness,” above all else. Plant Pinot Noir in Provence, and you’ll get a generic, uninteresting red wine; plant it on a hillside north of Beaune, and the result can be other-worldly.
The wines of Côte Rôtie have been celebrated for thousands of years. Made from pure Syrah at its northernmost growing limit, Côte Rôtie represents Syrah at its most refined. Our source for Côte Rôtie is the Domaine Bonnefond.
We spent yesterday tasting in the Northern Rhône Valley. From 9am through 5:30pm, we tasted dozens of meaty, intense, sinewy Syrahs, from appellations like Cornas, St-Joseph, Côte Rôtie, and Crozes Hermitage. They were chewy, delicious, and exhausting. After a day of teeth-staining reds, our final appointment finished with a golden, shimmering white wine: Condrieu from […]
Our source in Côte Rôtie is the Domaine Bonnefond. Robert Parker calls Bonnefond’s wines “among the finest in the appellation,” and Vinous’s Josh Raynolds recently called them “as graceful a group of wines that I’ve ever sampled.” Last week we wrote about their exceptional 2015 Côte Rôtie “Rochains,” which Vinous called “superb” and awarded 95 […]
Christophe Bonnefond is a quiet man. Our tastings with him each year are pleasant and friendly, but he’s not what you’d call a “talker”. He’s happy to answer questions, but rarely volunteers information, preferring to let his wines speak for themselves.
Sometimes the most impressive wines come from the most unassuming of winemakers. We see our fair share of egocentric vignerons, but often the most talented winemakers are the quietest.
The wines of Côte Rôtie have been celebrated for thousands of years. They appear in the writings of Plutarch and Pliny the Elder, and today are among the favorite wines of the sommelier Instagram set. Made from pure Syrah at its northernmost growing limit, Côte Rôtie represents the grape at its most refined.
In much of the world, Syrah is a powerful grape that produces soft wines with jammy fruit and low tannin. But in Northern Rhône Valley, the grape takes on an entirely different style. Grown at its northern ripening limit, Syrah finds a more elegant and balanced expression on the steep banks of the Rhône River south of Lyon.