Mar 16 2010
2003 Côte-Rôtie, René Rostaing
Crew-cut and businesslike (he's also a legal academic and runs a sizeable property portfolio) René Rostaing has made Côte Rôtie (elite northern Rhône Syrah plus a little Viognier) of stark purity at his brutally stylish Ampuis cellar since 1971. He was fortunate in inheriting many small plots, some containing century-old vines. His 2003 is unprecedentedly complex and profound, with cassis-rich fruit, liquorice, dark chocolate, and savoury notes of sizzling bacon fat.
