Maison Tardieu-Laurent Saint-Péray Vieilles Vignes

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Appealing smoothness and great balance in this Wine, despite of the early character of the vintage. This, by the obvious grace of old vines, which have soaked up the best from the soil to reveal the whole grandeur of this Appellation.
The vintage

Spell of the years in « 5 » ? The fact is that, in recent decades, Vintages ending in « 5 » - 1985, 1995, 2005, and 2015 - , carry success stories, in Vallée du Rhône, but also, more generally, in the whole of the Vineyards of France. It must be said that 2015 put the odds on its side, with almost optimal climatic conditions for each and every season of the year! Thus, winter is rainy, allowing vines to benefit from good water reserves. Spring awakening is somewhat late - 3 weeks delay, compared to 2014, yet, the weather gradually settles, and flowering takes place in excellent conditions: the output of grapes is quite simply outstanding. The summer period arrives then quickly, with extremely hot months of June, July and August. Nevertheless, one cannot speak of heat wave, as the nights remain cool. Consequently, thermal amplitudes are absolutely phenomenal. No pressure from pests and diseases, the vineyard and the winemaker breathe freely. Everything is looking fine before the start of the harvest…
The rains that occurred end of August unblocked, then, in a second step, accelerated maturing.
Rarest data, the grapes are, here, widely in advance: thus, as unbelievable as it may read, Côte Rôtie is the first Appellation to start harvesting ! Levels of maturity are quite homogeneous. There is no gap between phenolic maturity and physiological ripeness. Never, ever, had we tasted such quality of juice. The wines are clearly defined, both dense and fresh: the perfection of their balance is purely disconcerting…

Terroir

La Côte, la Beylesse.

Type of soil

Clay-limestone soils.

Ageing

Ageing 12 months in new and one year old barrels. Allier, Tronçais et Jupille.

Serving

12°C
Decant one hour before tasting.

Alcohol content

14%

Bottling

Without fining and light filtration.

Cépages

Marsanne : 50 %
Roussanne : 50 %

Deep straw. Really tangy on the nose – great vivacity and raciness but with a honeysuckle undertow (from the Marsanne presumably) and just a hint of struck match. Utterly satisfying already. Depth and refreshment. I’m not surprised it is already sold out chez Corney & Barrow. Too rich to sip without food though.

Jancis Robinson , 17/20 , 2016-11-25