Bonnefond Côte Rôtie “Vignes de Mon Père” 2019

We have been buying Côte Rotie made by Christophe Bonnefond for some twenty years now, and have watched his style evolve. His wines have always had plenty of stuffing, but over the years he has dialed back the oak and extraction, and his wines now show a particularly elegant, deft touch. This year the Domaine released a wine made By Christophe’s daughter Lea, a blend of grapes from Roziers and Rochins called “Dans les Vignes de Mon Père.”

Apparently the apple falls not far from the tree. Made with 100% whole clusters, this wine is ultra-dense, almost unctuous in the mouth but supported by lots of structure. Josh Raynolds awarded 93-95, finding it “juicy, appealingly sweet and concentrated yet lively on the palate, offering intense black raspberry, cherry liqueur and spice cake flavors and a hint of candied flowers on the back half.”