Garagiste

• By Jon Rimmerman
  7/22/2008 (link)

  (EGLANTINE Cote Rotie Ferraton) Cote Rotie Magnum Dear Friends, I'm not quite sure how we talked our way into these but I'm not going to question it. If you are looking for one of the most limited items I've come across - this is it. Magnums of this wine are nearly impossible to come by (only a few shops in Europe received them and I'm not sure they even have them at this point). I know they are expensive but the potential for increased value is more than a distinct possibility. Cote Rotie always seems to bring out the secondary market (similar to the top Burgundy wines) and this should be no exception. If there are only 10 cases of 750s for the US, you can guess how limited the magnums are... ONE SHIPMENT ONLY directly from the winery cellar with perfect provenance: (to refresh your memory, the original 750ml offer is below) 2005 Ferraton Cote Rotie L'Eglantine 1.5lt EXTREMELY LIMITED This parcel arrives in 4-6 weeks. ************************* (original offer from last week) Cote Rotie Dear Friends, What's one of the toughest examples of Cote Rotie to obtain right now? La Landonne? Rostaing's Cote Blonde? No, it's this wine - the flagship that Michel Chapoutier hopes will put Ferraton on the map like his 1991 Cote Rotie Mordoree did for the resurgence at his namesake winery. I've been trying since last summer to find a few cases of this as my favorite wine shop owner in Lyon kept telling me "you need to get this now, before the reviews and before it's $200-300" - I finally found a parcel last month and it's just arrived. Michel Chapoutier learned from his mistakes and successes at his own winery and he wasn't going to take any chances at Ferraton - the goal has been the very top or nothing, equal to or surpassing his own wines or of another similar resuscitation story - Delas-Freres. Michel changed the farming to organic and biodynamic, cut out the inferior parcels and slashed anything to do with the somewhat tired image of Ferraton. He wanted a clean slate (as he did when his father handed him the Chapoutier reigns) and the initial results already place this set of wines in a class reserved for very few. In the end, names are for labels - it's the wine in the bottle that counts and this one is magic. You can believe the hype on the 2005 Eglantine - not only is it almost impossible to get but the sheer quality of this mineral-drenched, bacon-laced and wildly floral scented Syrah is something to behold. They rarely taste anyone on it at the winery (even if you ask) but I would expect eye-popping praise on this late release 2005 from the powers that be - 10 cases for the entire US market (10 cases? It's almost silly): 2005 Ferraton Cote Rotie L'Eglantine (SOLD OUT) Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Rhone5988