Boutinot Cotes du Rhone Villages 'Les Coteaux' 2020 2020

Instantly impressive, this wine reveals its class from the start. Typical red berry, brambly fruit underpinned by subtle oaky nuances, lovely sweet spice, warm star anise with a touch of cinnamon. The flavours are densely packed, layer upon layer of primary red fruit are refined by smooth oaky subtleties bound up in a finely woven structure. Flattering as these words are, they just don’t do this wine justice as the nose is so very alluring and attractive that you can’t wait to taste it!... but you resist because you want more of these lush aromas to wash over you.

When you finally take your nose out of the glass and sip and swirl this lovely nectar, the same lusciousness and velvety characters come through on the palate. In the long finish the intensity of the vintage shines as the wine ‘grows’ in the glass. ‘Les Coteaux’ is such a well made and ‘together’ wine. It is made to relish on release but the finely grained tannins are likely to lend longevity so it could be well worth squirreling some away.