Domaine Bott Cote-Rotie

This Côte-Rôtie ticks all the right boxes for this prestigious Northern Rhône appellation. The "roasted slope" is so-called because of the intense sunlight that rains down on the vines trained to the vertiginous hillside above the Rhône. Here the Syrah (sometimes, though not here, co-fermented with white grape Viognier) takes on a unique character, marrying red and black fruits with smoky, gamey notes and hints of floral aromas.

This example, from Graeme & Julie Bott, comes from from schist and granite soils, it spends 20 months in French oak barrels.

92pts Decanter