Collection: Rostaing: A Pearl in Côte-Rôtie

A few autumns ago, on a blowy November morning, a couple of friends and I arrived outside Domaine René Rostaing for our scheduled tasting appointment with Pierre Rostaing, who had in 2015 taken over the estate from his father. Pierre – nor anyone else – was anywhere to be seen. But eventually, we intercepted René himself coming back from doing his shopping. Now in his 70s, he was jolly and enthusiastic as he took over our appointment.

The wines that emerged through the pipette from those barrels were some of the most memorable I have enjoyed of any tasting in France. The gorgeous perfume of violets, the silky texture, the ethereal finishes; these are Syrah wines to die for. Along with the Jamet wines, they are perhaps the only remaining exemplars of the great traditions of finesse and grace that characterised Côte-Rôtie in the 1970s and 1980s, before the trend towards power and density took over.

About the cuvées: Ampodium is the great value estate wine; Côte Blonde, from whiter soils, has a floral quality that, in a red wine, must be tasted to be believed; and La Landonne, while displaying the classic Rostaing perfume, has broader shoulders and great intensity. These remain some of the Rhône valley's most aristocratic and thrilling wines today.