| Mary Taylor, Thoreau Wine Society: "On the way back from a trip in Chateauneauf, we drove up the Kyhber-pass-like road to taste with Christophe Bonnefond at his winery in Mornas. We left with our 6 bottles and I wouldn’t have guessed that I could get my hands on a few cases of these untenable 06’s – since the winery is so small and celebrated, but voila -
Christophe, another hot-tamale (the dudes down there remind me of the seniors who drove around in their broncos looking all serious when I was a ruttish sophomore), is the co-president of the Syndicate of the Cote Rotie appellation. Brother Patrick, who I have never had the pleasure – works the vineyards – their vines are kept strictly in top form – they do 2 green harvests to plug lots of vibration into the grapes they select to go into their seductively layered wines, in which the perfume meets you, but is somehow ethereal and then not, because, heck, you can actually consume it, a lovely lavender lilac aromas with silhouettes of burning embers, something phantasmagorical, one can feel the energy of the juice, the mild warmth, pleasure rising and descending, the chatter drowning out your mind, the juicy delicious tannins linger – La La wines are not the only ones that can have this effect.
Patrick et Christophe Bonnefond Cote Rotie 2006, coming from 30% new oak (the oak is a diverse mélange). 100% syrah – maybe a small % of viognier. 35-40 year old vines coming from 3.5 hectares, low yields (35 hl.ha), Spends 12-14 months in barrel, reaches 13 % alcohol. No fining on either wine, no filtration, almost no sulphur. " |
