Côte-Rôtie AOC

The Côte- Rôtie is a small but famous wine region in the northern part of the Rhône wine region, the so-called Rhône septentrionale. The name means " Roasted or fried hanging " and describes vividly the sun-drenched, steeply terraced vineyards. The area the appellation covers 264 hectares in the three communities Ampuis, Saint- Cyr- sur -Rhône and Tupin Rhône district. In the year 2011 10510 hectoliters of wine were produced.

Soil and climate

The slopes of the Côte- Rôtie belong geologically to the Massif Central. The soil consists of gneiss and mica schist. Its weathering creates numerous fine cracks and fissures that allow the roots of the vines deep penetration. The Côte- Rôtie today consists of three parts: the area Tupin et Semon in the south, the central area around Ampuis and Verenay and the northern section of St- Cyr- Sur -Le -Rhone. Historically, the central area around Ampuis with the layers Côtebrune and Côte Blonde the most famous. Both are separated only by a small stream. The legend says that in the 16th century, the feudal lord Maugiron his vineyard holdings between his two daughters aufteilte, one of which had a blonde hair and the other was brunette. The real difference, however, lies in the soil: The Côte Blonde is sandy and slightly calcareous, while the Côte Brune is loamy and rich in iron minerals. The diversity of soils affects the character of the wines. During the wine of the Côte Blonde is softer and more accessible, come from the Côte Brune stronger and longer-lasting wines. The awareness of these two layers often tempted to divide the entire area in only two soil types and the areas Côte Brune and Côte Blonde. It is an oversimplification. Winegrowers Association of Côte Rôtie differs not less than 73 specifically named areas. Within these layers there is achieved partly named subregions ( as La Turque as an area of ​​Cote Brune ), parent location designations are not recognized but beyond. Also there is a great variety of different soil types. One of the most famous winemakers, René Rostaing, differs more than thirty in the area of ​​Côte Rôtie. The climate of the northern Rhone Valley is a mixture of continental and Mediterranean influences represents the summers are hot and dry, only thunderstorms bring rain. The microclimate of the Côte- Rôtie has two special features: Due to the course of the Rhône from northeast to southwest, it has a whole host an amphitheater south oriented documents. A regularly occurring local north wind, the " bise ", the vines, however, protects against excessive heat. Overall, the micro-climate is a little cooler than that of the more southern Hermitage.

Documents and wines

The red Côte- Rôtie is a powerful, multi-layered and very sustainable wine that unfolds its rich Bouqett of red fruits, spices and violets after a few years of cellar maturation. Due to the strong tannins of the Syrah he is strong astringent in youth and therefore inaccessible. Therefore, usually a long bottle aging is necessary, in which the tannins polymerize with dye molecules, which reduces the astringency. Wines large volumes are up to 20 years shelf life. A Côte -Rôtie is always prepared with a long maceration and traditionally aged in oak barrels. In some cases new barrels are used.

Two grape varieties are permitted for the always red Côte-Rôtie: Syrah ( minimum 80% share ) and the white grape Viognier ( max. 20 %). As most winemakers since the second half of the 80's in getting a lesser extent mitvergären the strong tannin stems, the importance of abmildernden Viognier has decreased. The winemakers who grow Viognier use in their cuvées rarely more than 5%. In the single-layer Cuvees Viognier is often missing entirely (see also La Chatillone of Vidal -Fleury with 12 % Viognier ). The base yield is relatively low 43 hl / ha.

The Côte- Rôtie is divided into numerous, only a few acres of individual layers. The largest landowners and most famous producer of Côte Rôtie, the company Guigal. Most producers represent only a Côte -Rôtie Cuvée forth as various plots. However, the most famous wines come from individual layers:

AMPUIS

• La Landonne
• Les Moutonnes

Verenay

• Les Grandes Places
• La Viallière

The wine critic Robert Parker has the Guigal wines Landonne La, La Turque and La Mouline have frequently awarded the highest rating of 100 points in his wine rating. However, these wines meet some wine connoisseur 's view, her style is not a typical or classic Côte- Rôtie wine, as only extremely ripe grapes are used and the wine is aged for up to four years in new wood ( Livingstone - Learmonth, p 103). Robert Parker also noted, for example, for 2007 La Turque, this not taste as if it came from the Côte Rôtie ( Wine Advocate # 193 - Feb.2011 ). The increasingly pervasive shift towards a style of wine that is force-, fruit -, wood - and alcohol- stressed and thus a departure from the classic Côte Rôtie represents style, which is often described as delicate and vibrant, often leads to criticism. Not least, the wine reviews Parkers have led to bottles of these wines, eg from the Class of 2001 from 250 to well over 300 € / bottle are traded. Whether these prices are justified, must every consumer, as with popular wines from different growing areas, decide for yourself. Production quantities of each 5,000-10,000 bottles per year does not justify the price, as production figures and prices of other top producers are well below those of Guigal (eg Jamet " Cote Brune " 2000 Fl. ). The three designated as " LaLaLas " wines are produced from Marcel Guigal in Ampuis, which is by far the largest producer of Côte- Rôtie. From its standard blend " Côte Brune et Blonde" about 200,000 bottles a year are produced. Marcel Guigal 1995 acquired the Château d' Ampuis, which is now the headquarters, which also houses the private wooden barrels are made ​​for the maturation of the wines. Under the name " Chateau d' Ampuis " is an annual Côte- Rôtie from different layers in an amount of about 25,000 Fl. / Year produced. These holdings also include the 1984 acquired traditional trading house Vidal- Fleury ( 35,000 Fl. Côte-Rôtie/Jahr ). Other important producers of Côte -Rôtie are Gilles Barge, Bernard Burgaud, Maison Chapoutier, Yves Cuilleron, Jean -Michel Gerin, Bernard Levet, Michel Ogier, René Rostaing, and the Domaines Clusel -Roch, Jamet and jasmine.

A legend and most sought-after wines of Côte Rôtie in general are those of the 2011 deceased Marius Gentaz - Dervieux that his last year brought out in 1993, the vines were then to his nephew René Rostaing. Wine lovers will enjoy these rare wines are full of enthusiasm whether this classic Côte -Rôtie creations.

The best vintages of the last decades were 1978, 1989, 1990, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009 ( average rating from six different reviews from critics, wine publications and retailers: Robert Parker, Wine Spectator, Wine enthusiast, Enobytes, Decanter and Berry Bros. & Rudd ).

History

The Côte- Rôtie is one of the oldest wine regions of France. The wines of the ancient city of Vienne were famous in ancient times. So the Roman poet Martial praised their exceptional quality. The wines of the Côte -Rôtie always maintained its reputation, but always stood in the shadow of Hermitage. 1787 visited Thomas Jefferson, who was an American envoy to France at that time, the region and could be sending some boxes for him bottled wine to Paris.

In danger of viticulture fell on the slopes laborious to be edited only by the phylloxera crisis in the 19th century, the First World War and the Great Depression, 1929. Shortage economy were abandoned and outstanding locations. On October 18, 1940, the Côte -Rôtie was given the status of a Appellation d' Origine. Also gave the weakened through the various aforementioned crises viticulture no lift. 1949 Cote- Rotie liter for 1 Franc / liter was sold. Many winemakers were able to survive only through the cultivation of fruit or side jobs. 1960 whole 700 hectoliters of wine were produced. Until the late 70ies was no change in the precarious situation of viticulture on the Côte -Rôtie. Few winemakers filled their wine from themselves, most sold their wine to retailers. The outstanding Rhone- Year 1978 was the starting point for the renaissance of Rhone wines. Accompanied by the first edition of the book of Livingstone - Learmonth and positive comments influential wine importers like Robin Yapp (England) and Kermit Lynch ( USA), the attention of the wine world started on this long-neglected region to be addressed. There is disagreement today which took place in 1966 expansion of the appellation, the integrated areas Verenay and St Cyr -Sur -Rhone in the area. Likewise, critics claim that plateau documents have been approved over the steep slopes of the Côte Rôtie for viticulture. In their opinion, many of the newly added records are not likely to produce such a high quality wine, as it corresponds to a Côte Rôtie and fear negative impact on the reputation of the wine region. Early 1960s was the acreage only 50 ha, now there are over 200 hectares and rising.