Life is too short to drink bad wine

Cote Rotie, 100% Syrah and steep hills down to the Rhone river. A wonderful landscape and brilliant wines. Think dark fruit, smooth velvety well balanced taste. Soft tannins. You take a sip and realise it could be a full-bodied Burgundy or perhaps a super fruity Bordeaux. But it's Cote Rotie, a tiny appellation with legendary quality wines. The 2007 is at peak right now, no need to keep it further. Just drink. Alone. or with something you really like. Cote Rotie 2007 Michel & Stephane Ogier Ca 25€

This is 100% Syrah with perhaps a bit of Viognier in it as well. The wine is dark, dense and delicious. Packed with dark fruit and very smooth tannins. It´s drinking wonderfully right now and should go well with pepper steak, game as well as cheese. Cote Rotie is in the very northern part of the Rhone valley and provides wines that are easy to drink when young as well as older. Due to the marginal production, the steep hills and the demand, the prices are normally high. Cote Rotie 2007 Ogier Ca 35€

I do not know much about Pierre Blanche, but I found this Cote Rotie in the wine shop the other day and I thought it was worth while trying. Seductive dark fruit and spice on the nose , but perhaps a bit one dimensional… The taste is well balanced with the same elements as on the nose with a nice fruity aftertaste. A good wine, but perhaps not great as one should expect from this corner of the world… Perfect with game and entrecôte with pepper sauce... Cote Rotie 2010 Domaine de Pierre Blanche Ca 25€ or 300NOK

This is a massive Cote Rotie by a producer called Gangloff. It contains 7% Viognier with the rest being Syrah. The expression on the nose is floral, dark fruit, dark chocolate and dried herbs. A big opulent massive taste with great body and finish. A lovely and seductive wine, but also quite expensive (50£). Very limited quantities. Cote Rotie 2007 Gangloff Ca 50£

A young and attractive Côte Rotie (100% Syrah) that is drinking very well already now. Perfect with game. Beautiful bouquet of brambles, some pepper and some dark fruit. Lovely balanced fruity taste and kind integrated tannins. A very nice Cote Rotie indeed.     

This is a great Cote Rotie which is not too expensive. Deep dark purple color. Lots of dark fruit, brambles and pepper. Fruity well balanced taste with soft tannins. Nice to drink now but can easily be kept 3-5 years. Try with game or red meat. Cote Rotie by Montez 2010 Ca 25€ Big wine wine but very easy drinking

This is a serious wine based upon Syrah and the white grape Viognier. It has been 42 months in new oak and the vines are around 75 years old. Beautiful aromas of red berries, blackberries and violet. The taste is velvety with a great balance and silky texture. Great stuff and one of the best Cote Rotie around. Only 400 cases. Cote Rotie "La Mouline" 2004 by Guigal Syrah is just a super delicious grape... High price > 40€  

Halloween wine from the upper parts of Rhone, Cote Rotie. Immediate impression of the wine is that it is too peppery but the wine opens after some time, although the peppery overtones are still there and quite dominant. Lots of fruit and a overall balanced taste. The wine also improves with food. Perfect with game but quite a change in perception of the wine after some time in the carafe. Cote Rotie 2010, Jean-Michel Stephan Scorpions - " Wind of Change"

I bought this wine while visiting the producer in the Rhone valley. Dark red colour packed with spicy fruit on the nose. Big solid fruity taste and a lovely and elegant aftertaste. Goes well with game but took the confit de canard on a straight arm. Great value for money and overall a truly great wine. Ca 35€. Cote Rotie 2006 "Madiniere" Yves Cuilleron Guns N Roses: "Knocking on Heaven's Door"

This is also 100% Syrah but from up the valley, in fact at the very top of the Rhone valley. This is a more sophisticated (and pricy) Syrah than Crozes Hermitage and St.Jospeh but would still go with the same sort of food. Normally this can be stored for quite some time but this 2005 "les Bescasses" from Chapoutier is peaking right now and will not improve by further storage. A bit surprising Bordeaux like characeter on the nose with old dusty cellar and ripe red fruit. The taste is pure velvet and very elegant with a perfect balance. Les Bescasses 2010, Cote Rotie by Chapoutier

Wine # 5 Blindtasting Sirdalen 2011 Deep dark red colour. Vanilla, pepper and dark berries. Well balanced and a long fruity elegant taste. Could it be Syrah? Great wine... Cote Rotie 2006 by Ogier. Score 17.90 Lovely stuff ca 40€

100% Syrah from top of the Rhone valley. Guigal's Cote Rotie may not be the best from this appellation but does the trick for a reasonable price. Velvety taste, perhaps too kind. Would perhaps also benefitted from a more distinct peppery bouquet and taste, but still an enjoyable wine. Cote Rotie 2004, Guigal, 27€, cheap nice Cote Rotie but not brilliant  

Wonderful complex fruity wine with hints of pepper. Packed with fruit and long velvety tannins that goes on and on. Simply great stuff! Beautifully structured wine with a great harmony. If u can get hold of some bottles, just buy! Perfect with wild meat! Cotie Rotie 2006 by Rene Rostaing € 35, close to heaven...or above 19 out of 20 in score....(blindtasting)

It's Saturday. Another great day of Premier league. Pepper steak. Red wine to match. Rhone. Upper part. Cote Rotie to be exact. Steep hills. Medium red colour with a purple rim. Complex and elegant nose of sweet brambles and hint of pepper. Full bodied red packed with lovely fruit, perfectly balanced and a great aftertaste of pepper to prove the Syrah connection (up to 20% Viognier allowed). Pricy? Yes! Worth it? Yes? Wonderful? Yes Yam yam.... Cote Rotie 2007 Domaine Garon, high price and sensation, Score ca 18.50 Perfect with game, steak or lamb Présentation du vignoble de la Côte-Rôtie : appellation des cotes du Rhône du nord, site du syndicat des vignerons de l'appellation contrôlée cote rotie

Found a bottle of this uncut diamond last week. It is not on the price list, they just happened to have a few bottles of it in the shop. Way too young to drink now but it was the end of a tough week and national footie on TV. Deep dark red colour with lovely discrete smell of brambles, pepper, raspberries, olives. The taste is firm solid and complex. The tannins are surprisingly soft but very much present. Lovely long taste quite smooth and fruity with just a touch of pepper. This is textbook Syrah from Cote Rotie and the price is not far off British standards. Buy , just buy cause with at BBR in London the price per bottle is 51£! Parker score 92p.... Cote Rotie 2006 Michel Ogier - because we are worth it. NOK ca 400. Worth every penny.