François & Fils 2022 – Côte-Rôtie

The wine has a deep ruby color. The nose is dense, textured and warming, with pronounced toasty and spicy notes on the first nose. We find in particular the aromas of roasted red cherry, crushed morello cherry, black plum, roasted red plum, dried blackcurrant and wild blackberry, associated with notes of liquorice, cubeb pepper, ground clove, ground cumin, as well as toasted almond and toasted wood in the background. After aeration, the wine expresses a beautiful herbaceous freshness (dried mint, blackcurrant leaf in the background, a touch of basil and rosemary, as well as a hint of violet and peony. We also find slight notes of leather, of bitter cocoa and fresh tobacco. The palate is silky, pleasantly bitter on the attack. The tannins are powerful, a little dry and tight, but powdery on the finish. The mid-palate is juicy, precise and concentrated. We find notes of morello cherry in chocolate, fresh morello cherry, crushed wooden strawberry, black plum, roasted red plum and dried blackcurrant, associated with notes of violet, wilted rose in the background, dried mint, rosemary, fresh tobacco and prunes in chocolate< Delicate notes of torrefaction (toasted hazelnut, toasted wood) and spiciness (licorice, clove, ground cumin) are enveloped and not dominant on the palate. The finish expresses also a fine minerality (rock, granite). Beautiful acidity, firmness of tannins without astringency and concentrated fruitiness. A robust wine, with good aging potential.