2016 Côte-Rôtie Les Triotes

The Garon family traces its winemaking roots in the northern Rhône back to 1475. The family’s first Côte-Rôtie wasn’t produced until Carmen and Jean-François got the ball rolling in 1995. Their sons, Kévin and Fabien took control of the estate in 2003. With the 2006 vintage the Garon brothers began the process of breaking out smaller-production cuvée and single-vineyard bottlings, of which there are now four examples. Kévin showed me the 2016s and 2017s (which completed their malo-lactic fermentations when I visited in early March) and came away further convinced that this seven-hectare estate is not just an emerging star of Côte-Rôtie, but of the entire northern Rhône. The family’s cellar is located smack on the N86 road at the southern end of Ampuis and positioned almost squarely at the junction of the Côte Brune and the Côte Blonde. The vineyards rise steeply, even dramatically above the winery. Fans of detailed, graceful Côte-Rôtie are going to find plenty to like as the wines strike a compelling balance between old school (finesse, clarity and delicacy) and new wave (clean, fruit-driven and energetic, with well-knit, polished tannins.) Garon opines that 2017 “is looking like a blend of 2016 and 2015, with the structure of ’15 but the freshness of ’16.” The 2017s will be highly appealing wines not long after release, although they will also have the tannic structure and depth to age.