Today’s bottle is the wine equivalent of purchasing an especially beloved album on “virgin” vinyl: It’s a piece of history; it’s built to last; and the stellar 2015 vintage provided enhanced clarity and depth to a masterful recording of the Côte-Rôtie terroir.
Generations of the Barge family have grown grapes on the “roasted slope” since the 1800s, and in 1929, Jules Barge was the first
vigneron to ‘domaine-bottle’ his own wine. Now in the hands of Jules’ grandson, Gilles, this estate is a true Côte-Rôtie original, one of the great keepers of this tiny appellation’s traditions, yet somehow a landmark vintage of its homage to the Côte Blonde, “Cuvée du Plessy,” comes in well under $100. To my mind, this is one of the more scandalously under-valued collectibles on the market: It contains old-vine Syrah from some of the Côte Blonde’s greatest vineyard sites, including the Côte Blonde
lieu-dit itself (more on that below), and captures the essence of Syrah as grown in this region: perfumed as all get out; deeply meaty, smoky, and mineral; balanced and refined. It even has the classic dollop of the white Viognier blended in to add a floral kick, which is traditional in the region. And it will reward its buyer with 20+ years of soulful, ever-evolving deliciousness. We can offer up to six bottles per customer today, and boy, I wish it could be more. Elite Northern Rhône wine at this price is not to be missed!
Côte-Rôtie is one of the most precious commodities in the world of wine. There are only about 500 acres of vineyards in the entire appellation, producing about 80,000 bottles for the whole world, making this aromatic, angular northern Rhône Syrah an even rarer find than Grand Cru red Burgundy. Côte-Rôtie is also one of wine’s most dramatic landscapes—vineyards cling to crumbling, rocky slopes with 60% grades and soil must be held in place by hand-laid, rock-wall terraces called cheys. Thanks to a bend in the Rhône River, these slopes nevertheless have a southern exposure, enabling them to capture all-day sun in an otherwise cool climate. With that sun “roasting” (rôtie) the slope (côte), producers such as Domaine Barge create Syrah of unrivaled complexity and elegance, its aromas often pointed up with the addition of a small percentage of the white Viognier (in the case of “Cuvée de Plessy,” it’s 5%).
Within this tiny appellation is a further subdivision based on soil type: the northern section of the zone is known as the Côte Brune (brown slope), where reddish, iron-rich clays over a schist subsoil take on a darker hue. Vineyards to the south, in the Côte Blonde, have a lighter, more yellow-ish cast due to more sand and silt mixed with clay over a base of gneiss (a metamorphic rock derived from granite). Wines of the Côte Blonde are characterized as more perfumed and softly contoured than the darker, more mineral produce of the Côte Brune—but historically, producers blended fruit/wines from vineyards in both subzones to create a single wine called simply “Côte-Rôtie.” In more recent times, of course, single-vineyard expressions of Côte-Rôtie have become some of the most sought-after (and expensive) wines on the planet, and Gilles Barge, who took over the family domaine outright in 1994, has been at the forefront. His “Côte Brune” bottling is a regional reference point, and today’s wine, “Cuvée du Plessy,” was created to showcase some of the greatest vineyards of the Côte Blonde.
At this wine’s core is very old-vine Syrah from a parcel within the lieu-dit of Côte Blonde itself (there is a single vineyard site named “Côte Blonde,” which lends its name to the broader zone around it, just as there is a single parcel called “Côte Brune” that does the same thing). The vineyard is owned by the du Plessy family, another regional name to know, with whom Gilles (and his father before him) have collaborated since the 1970s. In addition to the extraordinary du Plessy fruit, Gilles also includes source material from prized Côte Blonde sites such as “Lancement” and “Boucharey.”
Vinification and aging of “Cuvée du Plessy” is, as you might have guessed, resolutely traditional: fermentation on native yeasts, incorporating a significant percentage of whole clusters, is followed by aging in larger, used oak barrels, mostly
demi-muids (600-liter capacity). This wine is from 2015, which is considered one of the greatest vintages in decades, but as a producer with over a century of experience they clearly picked at optimal—not over—ripeness. This wine shows restraint and perfect poise, clear evidence that it has what it takes to age for decades on end. In the glass, it’s a deep, nearly opaque ruby/purple with garnet and magenta highlights, with textbook northern Rhône aromas worth swooning over: crushed blackberry, red and black cherries, blueberry, bacon fat, grilled herbs, crushed rocks, and a lingering whiff of smoke. Nearly full-bodied and incredibly elegant, its tannins are like fine coffee grounds and the acidity brings the tension classic to Côte-Rotie. I would advise not opening any more than one bottle now, ideally waiting for 3-5 more years more for the rest, simply because the wine is a akin to a child genius; the conversation will be 10 times more interesting when the wine reaches 8-10 years of age, which is when Cote-Rotie blossoms (just like serious red Burgundy). Those who are patient will be rewarded. If you open a bottle now, decant it about an hour before serving in large Burgundy stems at 60-65 degrees. Be patient: it starts out a little closed at first but blossoms beautifully with air. And if you somehow don’t finish the bottle in one sitting, don’t worry: This is one of those wines that’s even better on day two! After tasting this wine, I found myself craving duck confit. And a second bottle. Great wine can make you a little crazy sometimes. You’ll see...
