Gilles Barge – Côte Brune – 1998

The Côte Brune is the northernmost stretch of the Côte-Rôtie, itself the northern stretch of the Rhône Valley. Unlike in the Côte Blond just to the south, the all-red wines of the Côte Brune are made without any lightening touch of (white) Viognier, and hence tend to be a bit meatier.

This is a lovely comparator to Gilles’s Côte Blond Cuvée Duplessey (last post) – with a Côte, 2 vintages and some Viognier (in the Duplessey) between them, they are startlingly different wines.

The Côte Brune looks more aged, with the beginnings of bricking at the rim. It is on the nose that the difference really shows through; the Brune is intensely gamey, with most of the fruit gone, and immediately feels like a more aged wine than the Duplessey – much more than the 2 years of extra age would age would account for. Further to the game, there are notes of bacon, pepper and a touch of balsamic vinegar (superseded by slightly curried notes later.)

1998 was a ripe, early maturing vintage in the Rhône, and that shows clearly in this wine. Unlike the 2000 Duplessey, I don’t imagine this getting much better with time; enjoy the magnificent sauvage notes now.