M. Chapoutier : Neve 2020

The 2020 Cote Rotie Neve is really pretty stuff this vintage. Starting with a lovely mix of violets, menthol, cedar, raspberries and blueberries, it has fantastic perfume and lift on the nose, a fine, elegant, medium-bodied palate, and a long, silky finish. Bravo.

A little spicier, earthier and more savoury than La Mordorée this year. Medium-bodied, precise and dry, packed with dense, ripe tannins. With a good sense of harmony, integration and excellent balance before a long finish. Seductive without overt oak influence, the alcohol is high but doesn’t feel unbalanced thanks to the concentration of fruit.

How is it possible to marry this kind of syrah power with the extraordinary refinement of this Cote-Rotie? It just glides effortlessly over your palate. Then, right at the end, the power creeps up on you and inexorably pulls you into its orbit, as if this was the planet Jupiter. Amazing mineral intensity at the dazzling finish. From a vineyard at the north of the appellation on pure mica-schist soil. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Drink or hold.

A wine that stopped me in my tracks was the 2020 Côtes Rôtie Nève, which comes from a single lieu-dit in the northern part of the appellation. All destemmed Syrah that spent two years in 30% new barrels, it has a hair-tingling bouquet of black raspberries, cassis, lit gunpowder, iron, and spring flowers. Pure, full-bodied, and powerful on the palate, it brings lots of ultra-fine tannins, has incredible balance, and the class to benefit from 6-7 years of bottle age and cruise for 25+ years!