2003 CÔTE RÔTIE LES ROCHAINS P C BONNEFOND - 12x75cl

Tasting Notes

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  Goedhuis

  Another unbelievably cold cellar meant that the Bonnefond wines tasted somewhat backward although clearly of exceptional quality. In 2003 the grapes were cooled to 12 - 14 degrees and fermentations were kept deliberately cool. Alcohol levels remain higher than usual but such is the sheer weight of fruit that these wines are beautifully balanced. Tiny quantities were made. A wine of enormous power and presence. The reserves of elderberry fruit more than balance the impressive structure, and the overall mouth feel is silky and fine.

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  Wine Advocate, February 2006,
  Score: 96

  The inky/blue/purple-tinged 2003 Cote Rotie Les Rochains (a 2.78-acre vineyard) is a floral, bacon fat, litchi nut, black raspberry, and blackberry-filled effort. Opulent, rich, and slightly less tannic and backward than the 2003 Cote Rozier, it is an enormously-endowed, exemplary example of Cote Rotie from an extreme vintage. Well-balanced and incredibly pure, it is one for anthology. Give it 2-4 years of bottle age, and drink it over the following two decades.

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Producer

Domaine Patrick and Christophe Bonnefond

This estate in the commune of Mornas is perched up on the hills just behind the Côte Rôtie escarpment and is run by brothers Patrick and Christophe Bonnefond. The domaine’s style is a modern and polished approach to Northern Rhône Syrah. The wines have a compact richness, which is matched by up to 50% new oak in the top cuvées, giving the black fruit toasty smoky notes. The Colline de Couzou is a blend of fruit from the Côte Blonde and the Côte Brune, whilst the Rochains and Rozier both come from the heart of the Côte Brune whose schist and mica-schist soils typically give more structure to the wines than the finer, more delicate character of the granite soils found in the Côte Blonde. The Bonnefond vineyard sites are of exceptional quality; their Les Rochains parcel lies just next to Guigal’s La Landonne. The wines are never fined, and only undergo a light filtration before bottling. Christophe likes to include some press wine in the final blends, giving them a creamy richness. Their style is slick and seductive.