2016 Cedric Parpette Cote Rotie Montmain

Jeb Dunnuck:
Roughly 500 cases are made annually of his Montmains, a wine that is always more accessible than the le Plomb, with Cédric aging this for one year less than the Le Plomb. I was blown away by just how freakin’ good this is. He used 10% whole clusters for the first time, as the grapes and stems were absolutely impeccably clean and ripe. In its cassis/light black fruited aromas and flavors, with quintessential Côte Rôtie hints of olive and spice and buried minerality, this has an idyllic balance of concentration and freshness, with completely ripe tannic structure and gorgeous precision, all at a wonderfully moderate 12.8% alcohol. In every way, aromatically, flavor, and texture, this screams CLASSIC and CLASS, while still offering a certain approachability. I am a big believer that balance begets balance, that a wine born of harmonious character will age well precisely because it is balanced. Trust me (and Cédric) when I tell you that this is truly great vintage, that you will hear about down the road a bit once the “pros” chime in. MARK MY WORDS. This is ready for pickup now, so this will arrive in December, giving you an early peek at the merits of the vintage in general……