As I’ve noted before, I did not “discover” Xavier Gérard’s superb Côte-Rôtie. To be honest, I have nothing to do with Gérard being anointed one of the most compelling superstars-to-be in the Northern Rhône. That honor probably goes to
Decanter magazine and/or the constellation of online wine chatrooms, whose gushing praise over the past few years has catapulted Xavier from quiet obscurity into the realm of sought-after cult wine celebrity.
Surfing this wave of well-deserved industry buzz, Gérard’s 2015 Côte-Rôtie arrived in California last year and instantaneously became a Northern Rhône “it” wine on social media. In a matter of days, the entire vintage sold out. I quickly hunted down the some older vintages for my own cellar and a generous slice of the 2013 vintage for SommSelect, which sold out in a few hours. Since then, it’s been practically impossible to acquire any reasonable volume of Gerard’s stunning reds, let alone his transcendent Côte-Rôtie. So, I suspect many subscribers will share the elation I feel at having uncovered a small trove of today’s 2014 vintage. This wine delivers an epic drinking experience: With brooding black fruit, chiseled granitic minerality, and a mosaic of exotic aromas straight from a spice market in Marrakesh (I’m emailing from Morocco today, by the way!), this is a bottle for the ages. And speaking of ages, don’t hesitate to buy a little extra for your cellar. While most Côte-Rôties of this caliber cost $300-$500, you can spend that same amount on multiple bottles of today’s wine to enjoy throughout the next decade!
[*PLEASE NOTE: today’s wine is only available on pre-arrival and will ship from California the week of Monday, March 25th. Limit 6 bottles per customer.]
Xavier Gérard farms just 3.2 hectares of vines in Côte-Rôtie. Whereas many local vignerons employ a team of vineyard workers or outside contractors, Xavier prefers to do the back-breaking work himself. He’s in his early thirties and built like an NFL player, so it’s not hard to imagine the square-jawed Xavier effortlessly scaling the heights of Côte-Rôtie each morning. This combination of personal involvement in every detail and sense of boundless energy and power is evident in all Domaine Gérard’s wines. Still, there’s more to the story than the man.
Let’s start with real estate: Gérard farms a “royal flush” of vineyard sites on this world-famous hillside, starting with “Mollard” and “Viallière” and ending with “Fongeant” and “La Landonne” (two sites that form the backbone of the most expensive and sought-after wines in the region from Jamet and Guigal). In Burgundy, these would be Grand Crus, but somehow, they make it into Xavier’s $62 Côte-Rôtie! In the cellar, Xavier is talented, and, having logged many hours as the son of a Côte-Rôtie winemaker, he is extremely well-versed in a variety of methods that conjure the optimal expressiveness of his home turf, no matter the vintage. More often than not, that means whole-cluster fermentation and élevage (aging) in larger-sized barrels known as demi-muids, but there is no dogma or “recipe” at Domaine Gérard; Xavier is never afraid of subtle changes.
Forgive me for reiterating the most important “take home message” here: This is a truly ridiculous value that will only become more sought-after over time. I’m stocking up, and I urge you to do the same. Now that I’ve beaten that point into submission, let’s talk about the wine! Today’s Côte-Rôtie from Domaine Gérard silences any notion that 2014 is an understated, “purist’s” vintage. On the contrary, this bottle offers deep black cherry and currant fruit, Turkish coffee and burnt chocolate aromas and grip, toasted sage, salt-cured beef, and a
mistral gust of blue flowers. All of this is wrapped tightly, layer upon layer, around a powerful, profond core of iron and limestone. It’s a monumental wine. If you wish to experience immediately as I have, please decant for two hours and serve in large Burgundy stems (typically I’d suggest Bordeaux stems for Gerard’s reds, but this vintage sings in a spherical bowl). Your only other obligation is to provide an appropriately memorable dish for this stunning wine. I’ve been enjoying my fair share of lamb here in Morocco and I can think of few culinary candidates more compatible with today’s wine than Paula Wolfert’s legendary, “almost” spit-roasted lamb. Get ready to have your socks knocked off!
