2016 Côte-Rôtie Maison Rouge

Christine Vernay’s red-wine-making style is extremely well-suited to the elegant character of the 2016 vintage and the results speak for themselves. Vernay’s Condrieus are usually at the top of the heap for the appellation, vintage after vintage, and starting about five years ago her reds began to make their case for inclusion in the upper tiers of their own regions. Those familiar with this legendary domaine’s elegant, highly expressive white wines won’t be surprised to find that their red siblings are also of the graceful school, eschewing weight and brawn for a lighter touch that emphasizes terroir as well as vintage expression. New oak is an afterthought and harvesting is carried out with a strong eye to maintaining acidity and keeping sugar and tannin levels on the low side. Vernay also tends to release her wines after they’ve had a bit of bottle age, a practice that I applaud and wish were practiced by more of her colleagues.