Delas Frères 'La Ladonne' Côte Rôtie 2022

This ancient region dates back to the Roman Era and is located on the right bank of the Rhône. It is said that during the Middle Ages, the Seigneur de Maugiron gave a hillside to each of his two daughters—one was brunette and the other fair—thus, were born the names of Côte Brune and Côte Blonde. Wines from the Côte Blonde tend to be more delicate and lighter in character than the fuller wines of the Côte Brune.

Maison Delas chose the Côte Brune for its wine: preferring the nurturing Demeter to the opulent Venus. But there is a reason for this: Delas loves the character of the wines from this slope. They combine presence with restraint, they defy time and never take the easy route—all qualities that the Maison values. And, as if this was not enough, the Maison also decided to use Syrah as a single variety, even though the appellation allows them to blend in a small proportion of Viognier to soften the powerful Syrah. The careful management of the winemaking and the ageing are sufficient to smooth out the corners of their Côte-Rôtie, the soul of this Côte Brune.

The soils of the northern part of the Côte Brune vineyard consists of extremely steep, terraced slopes of ferruginous mica schists which are covered with schist sand (arzel). La Landonne, a .7-hectare single-vineyard plot selection, is only produced in the very best years, never exceeding 2,500 bottles per year since the first bottling in 1997.