- 100 points -

Leading off two perfect wines, the 2020 Côte Rôtie Côte Blonde comes from two separate plantings going back to the 1970s and was brought up all in barrel. A legendary Côte Rôtie in every way, it offers an incredible perfume of sweet cassis, black raspberries, spring flowers, incense, camphor, and hints of cured meats. This carries to a full-bodied Côte Rôtie that has just about off-the-charts richness, a layered, seamless mouthfeel, beautifully polished tannins, and flawless balance. This unquestionably rivals the 1999, and while it's going to have some early accessibility, it deserves at least 4-6 years of bottle age and will last for two decades or more.

- 99 points -

(97-99 points) A wine that’s going to push the upper limits of my scale, the 2018 Côte Rôtie Côte Blonde has a wonderful sense of opulence and elegance paired with huge minerality and power. Giving up primordial notes of perfectly ripe currants, new saddle leather, spice, and wildflowers, it has a magical texture, huge richness and depth, loads of tannins, and a huge finish. It made my pulse jump.

- 98 points -

Best Rhône 2016 wines: The Top Scorers

No destemming here, aged in mostly old demi-muids with no more than 10% new oak. A captivatingly pretty floral fragrance can be coaxed out along with aniseed and blackberry notes, but it's tightly wound for now. The rounded palate is dense, with good concentration of red fruit and delightfully perfumed juniper. Soft tannins coat the mouth, and oak is present but well judged. There's good balancing acidity and a lovely, gently mineral seam leads onto a long, saline, savoury, piercing finish. Real detail and precision.

- 98 points -

Saturated ruby. Potent, finely detailed aromas of red and dark fruit liqueur, smoked meat, potpourri and exotic spices, along with a vibrant mineral top note. Sappy, alluringly sweet and penetrating, offering intense cherry, boysenberry, allspice and star anise flavors and a potent suggestion of candied lavender. Silky, finely wrought tannins build steadily through an exceptionally long, penetrating finish that echoes the floral and mineral notes.

- 97 points -

The winemaking at Domaine Rostaing is now in the hands of René's son Pierre, and it follows the same format for all the Côte-Rôties: four weeks in tank, 18 months in mostly old oak, natural yeasts, and as many stems as possible. A certain spice and perfume is contained within a dark, brooding mass, which has really fragrant, lifted, sweet berry fruit. There's considerable tangy berry acidity and blackberry-skin tannins, and it shows a good sense of refinement despite the remarkably powerful sinew. A very long, well balanced finish...

- 96 points -

This is aromatic with a touch of star anise, juniper and cedar alongside incredible, almost imperceptible tannins, but so full and present. It’s friendly, open, and ethereal with a long, silky finish but also very ripe in 2018, with slightly raised alcohol. A compelling wine with great finesse and Côte-Blonde style. The winemaking at Domaine Rostaing is now in the hands of René's son Pierre, and it follows the same format for all the Côte-Rôties: four weeks in tank, 18 months in oak, limited new oak, natural yeasts, and as many stems as possible - 100% this year.

- 95 points -

This red has a dark and winey profile, with black currant and blackberry fruit mixed with anise and mesquite, black tea and dark olive. All of this is nicely knit through the mineral-driven, well-structured finish, thanks to terrific mouthwatering acidity.

- 95 points -

Saturated violet. Intense dark berry, floral and exotic spice aromas pick up smoky mineral, cola and incense nuances as the wine opens up. Deep-pitched black raspberry, cherry compote and blueberry flavors reveal suggestions of candied violet and star anise. Finishes extremely long and juicy, the steadily building tannins framing lingering blue fruit and floral notes.

(95-97) POINTS

Lurid purple. Pungent aromas of ripe red berries, potpourri and smoky minerals pick up a spicy nuance as the wine stretches out. Silky and seamless in the mouth, displaying superb clarity to the sappy, mineral-laced black raspberry, boysenberry, candied violet and spicecake flavors. Shows a distinctly finesseful, even Burgundian character and finishes wonderfully long and sweet, with building tannins framing the intense fruit and floral qualities.