The Incredible Côte-Rôtie of Aurelian Chatagnier - Only 1,000 Bottles Made - I have 1/10 of Them

One of the biggest hits of the last year has been the clamor over the brilliant red and white St. Josephs

of Aurelian Chatagnier. I think that he makes one of the great Cote-Roties no one knows about and I have been trying to offer his Cote-Rotie since Fass Selections opened.  I was always told NO.. until today.

This is just a stunning wine. To get this much density, power and complexity out of 8 year old vines is damn near miraculous. It is grown on a tiny .2 hectare parcel. Now here is the real kicker. It is all slate soils and I think there really is something compelling about steep slope Syrah on slate soils. It is 100% destemmed fruit and naturally yeast fermented. It is aged in mostly new barrels but you cannot tell as the material in 2012 just sucked it all up. The wine is beautifully, almost hauntingly, balanced. The nose is super dense and concentrated with all types of animale/sauvage notes. But there is also dense wild berry fruit on the nose as well. Wild, wild Cote-Rotie in full effect. The density on this wine is just unreal. It should be $100-$150 a bottle in quality as all that density, after aeration, the brilliant finesse comes out and this is just a thrill a minute beverage. I really could not believe it when I tasted it and now cannot believe I am allowed to offer it.

He only makes 1,000 bottles and I have a little more than 1/10th of them and am the only source for this magnificent vin de garde Cote-Rotie for the 2012 vintage in the United States. If you love Chatagnier's other wines,  like most people did, you are in for a big upgrade. The finish just pumps fruit on the backend due to the classic and tell tale Chatagnier acidic kick that makes finishes on his wines endless. Just sick wine.

Below is background from the first Aurelian E-mail.

St. Joseph is one of the most exciting appellations in the Northern Rhone. When I visited and tasted with Jean-Louis Chave this summer we had a fascinating discussion about St. Joseph. Chave said St. Joseph has the most unexplored potential of any region in the Rhone. But he said, only 5% of St. Joseph is truly great terroir and much of it needs to be replanted. It's a very long project but in 50-80 years St. Joseph could be the shining star of the Northern Rhone.  I looked and walked through the vineyards - they are nasty steep and hard to work - and I'm talking as someone who has traipsed all over the Mosel.

So how did I find this wine?  In the world of wine importing, happenstance can actually be an effective strategy. Especially with the French. Let's say that they are often better at making wine than communicating. That is ok, as it is part of their terroir. That is where happenstance comes in. My business partner and I were in Tain L'Hermitage after a long day of driving and had a glass of wine at a cafe/wine bar. It was a long day and I needed a cigarette. I'm not a smoker but when in Rome . . .

I asked this guy behind me for one and we struck up a conversation. My non-existent French and his broken English made for a challenging conversation. But it was well worth it or you would not be reading this e-mail today. His name is Aurelian Chatagnier. Almost sounds like a name out of a Balzac novel. He dropped out of high school at 15 or 16 as high school was not for him. He bummed around for a bit and his sister or cousin's friends got him a job working the vineyards at Domaine Jamet in Cote Rotie. Not a bad place to start. Aurelian did not even know who Jamet is. But he quickly learned working in their vineyards in Cote-Rotie. After Jamet he worked for Francois Villard and something was stirring in Aurelian's head. It actually grew into his passion and he was happy he left Algebra and Philosophy behind. He felt at home in the vineyards. Vineyards can be a very calming and relaxing place and we semi-bonded over that idea.

After his experience at Jamet and Villard he had no choice but to become a winemaker. He started in 2002 with 1.2 hectares that he rented. In 2006 he built his winery. His winery is a renovated barn in St Jean de Boeuf (yes, St John the Cow) above the town of Condrieu. The vines are farmed organically and fermentation is natural. Just an old-school, traditional operation by a crazy kid. He is 26 or 27 years old now and things will only get better for Aurelian. He sent me samples when I arrived back in the USA and I was really blown away by his 2011 St. Joseph which can be had today for as low as $167.94 on the 6 pack and for this wine (because I think it will age 15-20 years). I will also be introducing a special 12 bottle price of $323.88. 

The similarity to Gonon is very apparent with the just insane amounts of acidity. Aurelian told me they would integrate after a few years. Luscious fruit and incredible transparency are the hallmarks of this fantastic St. Joseph. It is lean to start out with a charming rusticity. I really love this wine as this is exactly what I look for in Syrah. Think Gonon, Gentaz and Trollat for stylistic counterpoints. Very smokey notes that are typical for Syrah and layered with lovely high-toned fruit and soft yet firm tannins. Keeps developing more and more open. I recommend keeping this open for 2-3 days as it will surprise you with nuance after nuance. It is a masculine wine that is very concentrated but with the utmost finesse.

As I said in the Clos de Mez E-mail, this is how it starts for a an extremely talented grower. He does thing a bit differently than most people; his path to wine was an unusual one, to say the least. I will be the second person to offer these wines in the United States. He sold to a retailer in Texas in the past. 

2012 Aurelian Chatagnier Cote-Rotie - $69.99 ($197.97 a 3-pack) (LIMITED)