Maison Les Alexandrins Côte-Rôtie 2023
£48.25
The wine
A complex and powerful nose of violets, black fruit, spices and smoke. Concentrated flavours match the nose on the palate.
Côte-Rôtie means roasted slope, and the appellation sits on terraces so steep on the right bank of the Rhône that everything is worked by hand. Syrah here is often co-fermented with a little Viognier, which stabilises colour and lifts the perfume. Maison Les Alexandrins is the négociant arm of a partnership between Nicolas Jaboulet, Guillaume Sorrel and Alexandre Caso, buying fruit across the northern Rhône.
The producer
Maison Les Alexandrins
View all Maison Les Alexandrins winesMaison Les Alexandrins is a northern-Rhône house born of a partnership between respected figures of the region, blending estate vineyards with carefully sourced fruit. Based near Tain, it has quickly become known for authentic, well-priced expressions of the Rhône's great appellations.
The focus is Syrah on the steep granite slopes of the northern Rhône, with white Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier alongside. Attentive farming and traditional winemaking capture the perfume, freshness and mineral drive that define the region.
The range runs across the classic appellations, from everyday Côtes-du-Rhône and a fragrant Le Cabanon Viognier to Crozes-Hermitage, Saint-Joseph, an aromatic Condrieu and a perfumed, elegant Côte-Rôtie. Each shows genuine northern-Rhône character.
Pure, peppery and beautifully balanced, the wines of Les Alexandrins offer a superb introduction to the northern Rhône and its noble Syrah, with quality at every level.
