2017

Domaine Rostaing Côte-Rôtie Côte Brune 2017

Ready — youthful

Now approaching its drinking window, the Rostaing Côte-Rôtie Côte Brune 2017 has the structure to develop through to 2037. Although 2017 was hot and dry across the Northern Rhône, the schist of the Brune preserved freshness here — early reports describe rose, lavender, herbal tea and dark cherry over a silky, creamy-ripe palate with firm tannins on a long finish.

First produced in 2013, the Rostaing Côte-Rôtie Côte Brune is the youngest of the domaine’s single-site bottlings, and 2017 was only its fifth vintage. Drinknow till 2045, ideally after a long decant in its youth.

€ 340,00

Last bottle available

Weight 1 kg

Details

Country France
Region Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Producer Domaine Rostaing
Year 2017
Classification AOC Côte-Rôtie
Grapes 100% Syrah
Color Red
Alcohol % 13
Drinking Window Now – 2045
Condition Perfect. Actual bottle shown in gallery.
Volume 750 ml

Reviews

Jeb Dunnuck - 99

Even better, which is hard to believe, the 2017 Côte Rôtie Côte Brune is pure silky and is as elegant and seamless as they come. Like the Côte Blonde, it has an incredible floral quality as well as complex notes of classic Côte Rôtie black raspberries, violets, flowers, new leather, and spice. The tannin quality is off the charts and this already offers pleasure today, yet it won’t hit prime time for another 7-8 years and will keep for 25-30 years.

Parker - 99

Have I shortchanged Rostaing’s incredible 2017 Cote Rotie Cote Brune? Swirling notes of roses, herbal tea and lavender potpourri impart kaleidoscopic complexity on the nose, while the medium to full-bodied palate is creamy-ripe in texture yet silky, lithe and downright sexy. Firm tannins on the lengthy finish leave a lasting impression of longevity, of restrained intensity that should carry this wine at least two decades into the future.

Decanter - 99

Rostaing’s Côte Brune is only made in the best years, which recently have been 2013, 2016 and 2017. It’s sourced from 20-year-old vines on very poor soils, with a bit more clay than average but not deep. Soaring floral aromas of rose, violet and potpourri lead into a medium-bodied palate showing the most beautiful purity of juice – so concentrated but so lifted. Tannins are very refined, but very much present and strong. It has a very long, pure finish with a touch of menthol and citrus freshness, and a gently mineral undertow adding to the length. An extraordinary, beautiful, spellbinding expression of Cote-Rôtie. The yield of 30 hl/ha has produced 1,000 bottles.

Domaine Rostaing

Pierre Rostaing now leads the domaine his father René built, in part from parcels inherited from Albert Dervieux and Marius Gentaz in the early 1990s. The cellar approach has barely shifted: largely whole-cluster fermentation, ageing in used demi-muids and 228-litre barrels, very little new oak.

Notably, the Côte Brune cuvée exists only since 2013 — the parcel, once the source of Gentaz’s celebrated bottling, was replanted in the late 1990s and held back until the vines justified a separate wine. Releases remain small.

Terroir

The Côte Brune rises directly above Ampuis, at the northern end of the appellation’s historic core. Its soils are iron-rich mica schist — the oxidised iron gives the slope its brown colour and its name.

Compared with the granite and sandy gneiss of the Côte Blonde, these heavier, darker soils retain warmth and produce Syrah of deeper colour, firmer tannin and darker fruit. Moreover, the steep south-east terraces concentrate ripening while the schist’s poverty keeps yields naturally low. Structure, then, is the site’s signature; perfume follows with age.

What others say after opening the bottle

Bottles offered privately, before anything appears online

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Beyond the public selection, I occasionally source wines available in very small quantities — offered privately, or never formally listed. Through the Club Grandcru WhatsApp channel, these bottles are shared directly and selectively: mature vintages, single parcels, and bottles that never reach the open market. Early access is reserved for members.

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