Arrival of 2016 Xavier Gerard Cote Rotie

Several years ago, the formidable distributor Neal Rosenthal decided to bring in this great producer of Cote Rotie to complement their most excellent lineup of Northern Rhone wines. Xavier Gerard was young and unheard of which is strange for a region as small as Cote Rotie and the Northern Rhone . I tried his lineup a few years back and was really excited about the possibilities.  Unlike other Cote Roties, there was a lot to go around and I would beg my Rhone customers to try this and be bedazzled, especially the 2015.

Then something happened.....on the site Wine Berskerkers, someone raved about this wine and the whole line up from the producer. Being that we were the only store to carry out we sold out immediately and have tons of back orders for the next shipment coming. And just like that, Xavier Gerard's Cote Rotie is now getting the respect it deserves. Like King Crimson should and Louis CK did––before the incidents,––Xavier Gerard is becoming one of the top producers in the Northern Rhone.  

Description: An assemblage of the estate’s finest parcels, the single Cote-Rotie cuvée produced at the Gerard domaine is sourced principally from the Mollard lieu-dit (65%) with the balance a mix of Font-Jean, Viallière, and La Landonne. The de-stemming regimen varies with vintage, though a significant part is generally left as whole clusters. This is a finer expression of the appellation than many of its counterparts along the slope, with a purity of fruit and finesse to the tannins. Although its profile is marked by a regal elegance that makes this wine seductively drinkable in its youth, older examples offer strong testimony that the Cote-Rotie from Domaine Gerard has the capacity to provide a pure and tenacious expression of this noble terroir for decades in the bottle.

2016 Xavier Gerard Cote Rotie
Newsletter Price: $64.99
3 Bottle Price: $57.99
Case Price: $54.99