Bott Côte-Rôtie 2022

Côte-Rôtie is the northern tip of the Rhône, a band of steep, sun-facing terraces where Syrah has been grown for two thousand years. Graeme and Julie Bott, a New Zealander and a Rhône native, are part of the new generation working these slopes by hand. The vineyards sit on the appellation's schist and mica-rich soils, terraced so steeply that everything must be tended manually, and the southerly exposure on the roasted slope gives the name and the warmth needed to ripen Syrah fully this far north. The wine spends twenty months in oak barrels, where slow oxygen exchange knits the tannins together and adds a savoury cedar and smoke layer to the fruit. Côte-Rôtie traditionally includes a small share of white Viognier co-fermented with the Syrah, which lifts the aromatics and softens the texture. The wine is deep purple, with a nose of blackberry and plum, ground black pepper, smoke, olive and a floral top note. The palate is full and intense at 13.5 per cent, with fine-grained tannins and a long, peppery finish. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees, decanted, with roast or grilled red meat.