Côte Rôtie 2008 "Les IV Saisons" - Didier Gerin

Côte Rôtie 2008 “Les IV Saisons” - Didier Gerin

Presentation of the domain:

Didier Gerin has been operating the family estate since 2001. In his forties full of life, this former mechanical engineer considers that simplicity is synonymous with greatness. Since 2016, winemaking has been completely natural, pesticides, soil enrichment and phytosanitary treatments have been reduced to the strict minimum.

The vines of the 4 Ha estate are planted on stakes on slopes reaching almost 70% facing south. The harvest and work in the vineyard is entirely manual. Causing very low yields of around 34 Hectoliters per hectare.

The estate has 1.5 hectares in the Côte Rôtie appellation, half a hectare in the Condrieu appellation and 2 hectares in French wine.

Vinification in concrete vats with carbonic maceration by crushing and vatting for 20 to 30 days. Fermentation with natural yeasts, use of So2 only during bottling.

Food and wine :

The Côte Rôtie 2008 'Les IV Saisons' is a powerful wine that goes perfectly with robust dishes. It goes wonderfully with grilled red meats, dishes with sauces, mature cheeses, and even spicy Mediterranean dishes.

Tasting Notes:

We tasted this wine twice in May and August 2023. The first time alone and the second time with grilled meat.

Color: Deep ruby, the wine seems very young, although it is over 16 years old.

Nose: The first nose is of black fruit (blackberry), fresh and light spices and slightly green notes. We sense a vintage that would have required a little more sun.

The second nose evolves a lot, the spices and more particularly the pepper completely take over, you might say, this is a Syrah. The blackberry remains in the background.

Mouth: The attack is fresh and balanced, the perfectly supple tannins unfortunately lack maturity and are a little "green". Pepper and spices dominate and prolong the caudalies in endless ways.

Conclusion: A wine that I love to hate, since I tasted it twice in a short time just to be sure. Unlike very (too) rich vintages, this wine is not "easy", not full of sugar, alcohol and roundness. An “old-fashioned” style that we are no longer really used to. We strongly advise you to taste this wine at the table after a long time in the carafe.

Serving Tips:

To fully enjoy this Côte Rotie 2008, we recommend decanting it for at least an hour before serving. The ideal serving temperature is around 16 to 18 degrees Celsius. This wine has strong aging potential, and a few additional years of aging will allow it to further develop its complexity.