Côte Rôtie La Mordorée, Maison M. Chapoutier 2020

The 2020 Côte Rôtie La Mordorée brings the quality up a significant notch. Based on 100% Syrah from the Côte Blonde and Côte Brune lieux-dits, it was completely destemmed and spent two years in 30% new French oak before bottling. Liquid rock-like minerality, smoked red and black fruits, violets, and exotic, gamey, floral nuances all emerge on the nose, and it just about screams Côte Rôtie aromatically. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, this cuvée is never over the top, and the 2020 offers an incredible mix of richness and elegance, with flawless balance, ultra-fine tannins, a dense mid-palate, and a great, great finish. It's going to flirt with perfection in 7-8 years and have 25-30 years of prime drinking. Hello, beautiful!

Much like the 2019, the 2020 Cote Rotie la Mordorée is one of the best Chapoutier Cote Roties I can recall tasting. Scents of menthol, cedar, wild blueberries, vanilla and violets all show up on the nose, while the palate is medium to full-bodied, smooth, silky and elegant. Really long on the finish, it's a beauty that should drink well for close to two decades.

Saturated colour, a very ripe and expressive style. There's a juiciness on the palate from the fruit, and plenty of sweet, ripe tannins. The alcohol is a little warming here, the fruit very ripe. All very well integrated, this sample feels decidedly embryonic, with considerable oak influence, giving further sweet vanilla and spice. Will be very good in time, in a fairly modern, ripe, oaky style. This will be seductive in youth, but I would wait before opening this for the terroir to come forward.Drinking Window 2028 - 2035

Still very young, this great Cote-Rotie has an incredibly dense nose of forest berry fruits, licorice, smoke and pepper. Stunning concentration and enormous structure, but everything fits together beautifully. Enormously long complete finish with a breathtaking freshness. A cuvee of Cote Blonde (gneiss soil) and Cote Brune (mica schist) sides of the appellation. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Drinkable now, but best from 2025.