René Rostaing, Côte Rôtie

"One taste of Rostaing's wine will no doubt convince anyone that he is a star of his appellation" (Robert Parker, Wines of the Rhône Valley)

One of the very best estates of the Northern Rhône, René Rostaing produces Côte Rôtie of the highest order: a "Classique" cuvée as well as two luxury single-vineyard wines, "La Landonne" and "Côte Blonde" (pictured above). There are very few wines in the appellation to rival these for sheer class.

René's first cuvée dates back to 1971. Back then, the vineyard only covered 1.5 hectares, split between the Côte Blonde and the Landonne.The vineyard gradually grew, through the buying of new lands and the takeover of father-in-law Albert Dervieux' and uncle Marius Gentaz' vineyards. The vineyards are largely planted to Syrah (only the Côte Blonde has any Viognier - 5%) and the resulting wines are powerful yet exotically scented.

The winemaking and ageing process is exactly the same for all three cuvées: they owe their different characters exclusively to their respective terroirs.

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