Domaine François & Fils - Côte-Rôtie 2020
Price: $75.00
| Producer | Domaine François & Fils |
| Country | France |
| Region | Rhône |
| Subregion | Côte-Rôtie |
| Varietal | Syrah, Viognier |
| Vintage | 2020 |
| Sku | 019146 |
| ABV | 13.50% |
 |
Domaine François et Fils began, like most farms of the time, as a polyculture and breeding farm. Production of appellation wines didn’t begin until the late 1980’s, when Jean-Michel François planted his first vines on his family estate, Les Rochins, in addition to acquiring and planting on two fallow plots, Le Bourrier and Rozier. The first wines were released in 1991, but most grapes were sold off. In the early 2000’s, two more plots were rented — Fongeant and Janet — with a total of 1.5 hectares in Côte-Rôtie. Jean-Michel’s son, Yoann, joined his father in 2004 to help develop the wine business and bottle production, in addition to supervising new plantings, constructing a new cellar and updating technology. In 2015, Jean-Michel’s other son, Erwan, joined them. Today, the estate is comprised of just over six hectares in Côte-Rôtie, Condrieu and Collines Rhodaniennes and it is still polycultural, with over 25 dairy cows for milk and cheese production, as well as grain fields of cereals (wheat, barley, corn).
The François Côte-Rôtie’s fruit is grown in steep, mineral-rich vineyards on soils composed mainly of mica-schist. The wine is predominantly Syrah with about 2-3% Viognier in the blend. Deep purple in the glass, this Côte-Rôtie exudes an abundance of dark red and black berry aromas mixed with notes of violets and olive tapenade. The palate is medium-bodied with black raspberry, blackberry and blueberry fruit flavors accented with a touch of dried herbs. This is a well-structured, yet elegant wine with ferrous minerality, balanced acidity and an ultra-long finish. Ideal pairing for red meats: try with a perfectly-grilled T-bone, lamb lollipops or venison tenderloin.
