2002 Côte-Rôtie Côte Brune

The Barges normally harvest their vines in Cote-Rotie on the early side, before the acids go down, and thus 2003 was an unusual vintage in that the family did not need to chaptalize at all. The Barges did a relatively short 15-day cuvaison in 2003, as the juice quickly took on color and power. Jean-Michel Barge told me that the family lightly acidified the must, for the first time. These traditionally made wines are done in demi-muids and foudres, with only about 3% new oak used. The family purchased a destemmer in 2002, and has destemmed the fruit every year since then. Jean-Michel told me that his older brother Gilles was against the idea of a destemmer at the start but now likes the result. For his part, Jean-Michel feels that some vintages might be better off with the stems left in. (World Shippers, Philadelphia, PA) Also tasted: 2002 Cote-Rotie Cuvee du Plessy*.