The Côte Brune and Côte Blonde are said to take their names from two sisters of Côte-Rôtie – a brunette and a blonde. In reality, the two portions of Côte-Rôtie are most likely named for the color of their soil. Côte Brune, situated on the upper portion of the roasted slope at serious steepness, has much darker, predominantly iron-rich and schist soils while Côte Blonde, which rests on the more gentle southern stretch of the slope, has lighter pale granite and quartz soils that translate to a more approachable and softer wine. In the end, Côte Brune is the sweet spot on the slope and delivers enchanting wines with the most impressive minerality, depth, structure and are capable of standing the test of time. This tiny vineyard is farmed organically (uncertified) and is situated in the Côte Brune near the world-famous producer, Jamet, where wines demand six times this modest price. Half of the family’s vines were planted in the 1930’s and the other half replanted in the 1960’s, which makes for unbelievable concentration and depth of place in the glass. Their mature heirloom Serine clones are rooted in iron-rich, schist soils at a 50% grade on the slope, which demands entirely manual work in the vineyards.

 

Christiane Manin is the great-granddaughter of Marius Chambeyron, who founded the estate. The family continues to cultivate their parcel and craft world-class Syrah from a prime pocket of the Côte-Rôtie. Their winery is nestled in their garage below their family home in the village of Ampuis where they also own and operate the local Les Jardins de la Côte-Rôtie market, which is stocked with produce they grow themselves. Their Côte-Rôtie is manually harvested then vinified in whole clusters with native yeasts in open top, concrete tanks. Following fermentation, the wine is gently pressed through a traditional basket press then transferred through gentle gravity flow into 500-liter barrels. They only make three barrels a year! There, the wine ages for 18 months before it is bottled unfined and unfiltered. This traditionally crafted wine, from pristine organic fruit, is about as pure an example of Côte-Rôtie you will ever experience, and I doubt you will ever see this rare beauty again.