Domaine Jean-Michel Gerin Cote-Rotie "La Vialliere" red 2018

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (Joe Czerwinski, déc. 2019) : 92-94/100. The 2018 Cote Rotie la Viailliere I sampled was a blend taken from several barrels at the time of my visit. It's medium to full-bodied, creamy and lush, with black olive flavors that finish long and velvety. It has outstanding potential. Drink date 2022 - 2035.

Jean-Michel Gerin's sons, Michaël and Alexis, are running the domaine now, presiding over 12 hectares of vineyards in Côte Rôtie. There's a small production of Vins de France (from their own and purchased fruit) and Saint-Joseph (exclusively from purchased fruit). The wines here have been oaky for as long as I can remember, but in vintages when the fruit is naturally ripe and concentrated, they achieve a rich, velvety balance. That's especially evident with the leap in quality from 2016 to 2017 and 2018. According to Michaël, yields are pretty much always 30-32 hectoliters per hectare. "What's important is the concentration of flavor and the quality of the tannins," he said. He described 2017 as "very different from ’16, for keeping a long time." While '16 was "soft, delicate, almost like Burgundy," he said; in 2017, they "had to make a delicate wine from very strong grapes." He made fewer pump-overs to avoid extracting too much tannin, a step that seems to have yielded lovely results. Both the 2017s and 2018s are wines worthy of considerable attention.