Rostaing Côte-Rôtie Côte Blonde 2019

97 points Jeb Dunnuck: "The 2019 Côte Rôtie Côte Blonde is as seamless and silky as they come and is just a quintessential Côte Rôtie. Black raspberries, flowers, ground pepper, and subtle meatiness all emerge from this beauty, and it’s full-bodied, has remarkable tannins, no hard edges, and a great finish. It certainly offers pleasure today, but smart money will hide bottles for 4-5 years. It will knock your socks off over the following two decades. Drinking Window: 2026-2047. (2/16/22)"

97 points Josh Raynolds (Vinous): "Opaque ruby. Intensely perfumed, spice- and mineral-accented blueberry, kirsch, fruitcake and floral aromas are complemented by suggestions of incense and botanical herbs. Shows superb clarity and mineral thrust to its sweet black and blue fruit, cola, violet pastille and spicecake flavors, which deftly meld depth and vivacity. Finishes extremely long and smooth, with polished tannins and reverberating blue fruit, mineral and floral notes. Drink: 2029-2039. (Dec 2022)"

95 points John Gilman (View From the Cellar): "The 2019 Côte Blonde bottling from Pierre Rostaing is an outstanding wine in the making. It is ripe in the style of the vintage, coming in at 14.5 percent alcohol, but it is impeccably balanced and beautifully built for the long haul. The outstanding nose soars from the glass in a smoky mix of black raspberries, cassis, grilled meats, hazelnut, a gorgeous base of soil tones, woodsmoke, espresso and cedary oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and complex, with a great core of fruit, superb mineral drive and grip, ripe, firm tannins and a long, vibrant and beautifully balanced finish. This is seamlessly balanced and is going to be a classic, but like the other 2019s from the domaine, it has not yet fully integrated its oak component. 2035-2085. (Jul/Aug 2022)"

95+ points Joe Czerwinski (Wine Advocate): "...a bit closed on the nose, only to explode with vibrant red raspberries and cherries in the mouth. Full-bodied, concentrated and plush, with a long, mocha-tinged finish, it did begin to show a bit more aromatic range and complexity as it sat in the glass, so perhaps I'm being too tough on it. Drink: 2025-2040. (1/20/22)"

95 points Wine Spectator: "[$210 list] This is really packed tight, with a rock-solid core of red and black currant, plum and bitter cherry compote notes, bristling with a singed iron spine and additional pepper and lilac notes along the edges. Ends with a long tarry echo through the finish. Best from 2025 through 2038. 300 cases made. (5/31/22)"

94 points Matt Walls (Decanter): "A more subdued nose than you'd normally find at this stage. On the palate there is a lovely generosity of rich, ripe, juicy berry fruit with beautifully bright acidity. Tannins are massy and fine-grained. Elegant, with a long finish and slightly higher alcohol than usual. Four weeks in tank, 18 months in oak, limited new oak, natural yeasts, and as many stems as possible. Drinking Window: 2024-2033. (10/5/20)"

***** John Livingstone-Learmonth (The Cradle of The Rhône): "magnum: bright, full red; the nose has the vigorous exuberance of 2019, stoked up depth, an intense red cherry, mulberry fruiting, is wide and insistent. The palate connects well, goes right away off on a broad and rolling display of mixed red fruits, has a good sense of drive on the inside, with tannins that fit in pretty snugly. This has character, is unbridled. The finish runs with some rocky emphasis, draws on the vineyard’s deep roots, has a blood element of clarity. It is large in scale, but complex also, carries oak, but I really like it, is a wine of heart on sleeve energy. From another 10 years – 2034, say, and open it at 20 years’ old, and you will have AN EXPERIENCE. 14.5°. 2058-60 April 2024 Previously June 2021 ***** full red robe; the bouquet is stately, gives a pedigree aroma led by red berries, a real pleasing curve of ripeness, some herbal notes, rose petals. The palate is also very much on in-built elegance, smooth flow, the offer of fine red fruits, perky, silken tannins. It’s well orchestrated, classy. It’s a real achievement to have secured the purity on display here in a very hot vintage – good work, Pierre! “It has very good freshness which tempers the attack,” Pierre Rostaing. 14.5°. From 2027-28. 2054-56 June 2021."