2021 Pierre Gaillard Rose Pourpre Cote-Rotie, Northern Rhone

Dark red; the bouquet shows promise, has a cordite, mineral tone and bright blue fruit, will be stylish. The palate serves a suave stream of small black fruits with refined tannins to accompany it, the fruit persisting gracefully. It’s an aromatic, gently tuned Rôtie, a wine of finesse, precision, purity, bears the best virtues of the vintage. The iron clad finish gives a good burst of the vineyard on the close. From 2025.

John Livingstone-Learmonth Drink Rhône

Lovely Brune-style aromatics here: dark, deep and resonant. Fairly full-bodied and decidedly round, with mouthcoating clay tannins. The oak is well balanced here, adding weight and spice to the fruit. It’s generous for a 2021, with good acidity. From a south-facing parcel of Côte Rozier, all destemmed, and malolactic takes place in new barriques, where it spends 18 months.

95 points Matt Walls decanter.com

The charismatic Rose Pourpre (purple rose) comes from a particularly steep, one-hectare parcel of 40-year-old vines rooted in the schist soils of Côte Rozier. It’s a warm, amphitheatre-shaped site just under the famous La Landonne, at the heart of the Côte Brune. There are numerous stone walls, well known for their ability to retain heat. This magnifies the site’s sunny microclimate and is one of the keys to understanding the depth and structure of the wines that come from this terroir. Harvesting is, of course, by hand, and the fruit is entirely destemmed before crushing. This cuvee ages for 18 months in Allier and Nevers barrels. These barrels are mostly new, yet this powerhouse wine has soaked it up beautifully. Though never a brawny wine, Rose Poupre is traditionally Gaillard’s most palate-staining, brooding Côte-Rôtie.