2020 Côte-Rôtie, Lieu-Dit Bonnivières, Yves Cuilleron, Rhône
- Red
- Dry
- Full Bodied
- Syrah
Not ready
- James Lawther MW
- 16.5/20
- Jeb Dunnuck
- 92+/100
- Josh Raynolds
- 96/100
Product: 20208024370
Description
Formerly known as “Terres Sobres” this cuvée comes from 80-year-old Serine vines grown high up an east-facing mica-schist slope above Ampuis. It is vibrant and fresh, with small, concentrated red cherry fruit on the palate, a light brush of cedar and black pepper, and a palate of silky-smooth tannins. Elegant and succulent yet poised, with a long finish.
Drink 2023 - 2030
Georgina Haacke, Fine Wine Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd
Colour Red
Sweetness Dry
Vintage 2020
Maturity Not ready
Grape List Syrah
Body Full Bodied
Producer Domaine Yves Cuilleron
Critics reviews
James Lawther MW 16.5/20
100% Syrah. Cask sample.Tight but elegant with dark fruit and cassis notes. Plenty of freshness so the expression is lifted as well. Firm and long on the finish. Everything is decidedly in place.Drink 2025 - 2035james_lawther MW, JancisRobinson.com (December 2021)
Drink 2025 - 2035
Jeb Dunnuck 92+/100
The 2020 Côte Rôtie Lieu-Dit Bonnivières is solid, with some old-school-like juicy acidity and meatiness as well as medium to full-bodied richness and depth on the palate. Showing the riper style of the vintage, it has a complex, floral perfume that includes red and blue fruits as well as notes of sandalwood, leather, and violets. It's young and unevolved and needs 4-5 years of bottle age, but it's a beautiful wine.Drink from 2027 onwardjeb_dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com (December 2022)
Drink 2025 - 2035
Josh Raynolds 96/100
Dark, shimmering magenta. Displays highly perfumed black and blue fruit aromas, along with hints of vanilla, potpourri, olive and smoky minerals. Densely packed cherry, blueberry and fruitcake flavours stretch out steadily with air while taking on a suggestion of exotic spices. The mineral note repeats firmly on the vibrant and impressively long finish, which is shaped by youthfully gripping tannins.Yves Cuilleron succeeded his uncle, Antoine, in 1987. This highly regarded domaine has been steadily expanding. With vineyard holdings of only 3.5 hectares when Yves Cuilleron assumed control, he is now pushing toward 100 hectares with vines in every Northern Rhône appellation, save for Hermitage. Cuilleron is not shy about using new oak, but the percentage has been throttled back over the last decade, which is a positive result. Cuilleron travels extensively, and his wines are now omnipresent worldwide. The entry-level Syrah bottlings here deliver excellent value and are a great and readily available introduction to the house style, which favours generous fruit and relative accessibility. That said, recent vintages have become a bit more serious, showing more restraint and structure than in the past.Drink 2027 - 2037josh_raynolds, Vinous.com.com (December 2022)
Drink 2025 - 2035
About this wine
Syrah/Shiraz
A noble black grape variety grown particularly in the Northern Rhône where it produces the great red wines of Hermitage, Cote Rôtie and Cornas, and in Australia where it produces wines of startling depth and intensity. Reasonably low yields are a crucial factor for quality as is picking at optimum ripeness. Its heartland, Hermitage and Côte Rôtie, consists of 270 hectares of steeply terraced vineyards producing wines that brim with pepper, spices, tar and black treacle when young. After 5-10 years they become smooth and velvety with pronounced fruit characteristics of damsons, raspberries, blackcurrants and loganberries. It is now grown extensively in the Southern Rhône where it is blended with Grenache and Mourvèdre to produce the great red wines of Châteauneuf du Pape and Gigondas amongst others. Its spiritual home in Australia is the Barossa Valley, where there are plantings dating as far back as 1860. Australian Shiraz tends to be sweeter than its Northern Rhône counterpart and the best examples are redolent of new leather, dark chocolate, liquorice, and prunes and display a blackcurrant lusciousness. South African producers such as Eben Sadie are now producing world- class Shiraz wines that represent astonishing value for money.
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