Pierre-Jean Villa : Carmina 2023

Cask sample. Lively and fresh but lighter weight and frame. Aromatically restrained. Medium-term ageing. (JL)

Using grapes from young vines on the Lézardes lieu-dit, the 2023 Côte-Rôtie Carmina comes out showing elegant black cherry, dried herbs and breaths of violets. Black plum adds more aromatic nuance. Structured on a sleek tannic core, the 2023 is a genuinely nuanced Côte-Rôtie that's going to shine even more after two further years in bottle. It finishes with superb overall balance.

Unfurling from the glass with aromas of dark wild berries, violet, dark cherries and flowers, the 2023 Côte-Rôtie Carmina is beautiful and elegant. Medium- to full-bodied, dense and concentrated, it’s deep and tensile, built around a finely delineated tannic frame and a core of fruit with good depth, concluding with a long, mineral and ethereal finish. More vibrant than the 2022, this is a real success.