Tardieu Laurent Cote Rotie Vieilles Vignes 2017

Drink now through to 2034. No need to decant before serving.

Domaine Tardieu-Laurent runs as a negociant, selecting and buying in top quality young wines from across the Rhone Valley which are finished in their own cellars. To ensure all of their wines hit exceptionally high quality standards they insist on working with small biodynamic producers and send carefully-chosen barrels to their partners which are then transferred to the Tardieu-Laurent winery after fermentation.

This juicy Cote Rotie is crafted from three sub-regions in the appellation, La Landonne, Lancement and Chavaroche, which are planted with old vines with an average age of 60 years. These low-yielding vines produce succulent, incredibly concentrated fruit which is vinified and then matured in new oak barrels for a year. The wine then goes into large oak casks or foudres for an additional year before bottling.

The nose opens with enticing black olive, cigar box and deep cassis notes which deepens on the palate to crushed wild berries, leather and hints of dried herbs. The well-developed structure and fine-grained tannins will respond very well to extended cellar ageing, although this opulent red can also be enjoyed now alongside rich red meat dishes like beef short ribs, rib eye steak and hearty stews.