Perhaps the Top Undiscovered Northern Rhone Winemaker A Fraction of the Price of Wines from the "Popular Kids" in the US Another Gem from the King of the Northern Rhone, Georges "The Greek."

In general, I'm a big believer in markets.  Better things generally cost more and there is a general alignment between price and quality.  But sometimes, for whatever reason, the market just totally fails and something is under or over priced.  Why? Generally speaking, some wines have great
marketing which drives demand and increases prices.  I have no idea what happened with Domaine Barge (in my 17 years in traditional retail no one tried to sell me the wines) but let's just say that given the quality, the wines are ridiculously underpriced compared with the other top tier Northern Rhone wines.  Just to be clear, I'm not saying that the Popular Kids (Jamet, Chave, Ogier, etc.) aren't great.  It's just that today's winemaker is close to or at those levels for around a quarter of the price.

Traditional Cote Rotie is what everyone pines for because as the appellation has evolved it has also evolved towards the more modern style, which not everyone pines for. There are also producers kind of in the middle that predictably split people down the middle. One nice thing about modern and semi modern wines from classic terroir like Cote-Rotie, Hermitage, Bonne Mares, Nuits St Georges is eventually the terroir, after appropriate age will shine through. There is no modern or traditional after a wine from Cote Rotie is 30+ years old. There is just Cote Rotie speaking. The great terroir always shines through. I think people, now more than ever, gravitate towards traditional wines for a few reasons one notable one being that in the more globalized wine world we live in today there is a fear that an appellation can get stripped of its identity through homogenization. It almost happened in Barolo and Barbaresco but thankfully some of the more modern guys dialed back some of their more modern techniques of the mid 90's and are making better wines than ever. There is also the great fear that a great traditional domaine will not continue for a variety of reasons. Notably in Cote Rotie this happened to the great Gentaz-Dervieux estate and now those wines are over 1K a bottle. But as there is a herd mentality somewhat to wine appreciation in the social media and somm world there are some insanely great traditional producers that get overlooked. When you think of traditional Cote Rotie there is Jamet who is considered the king and then a few others like Gallet and Levet but it's hard to really think of even ten. That's a shame as when I am over there I taste a ton of great old school Cote Rotie and one I could not wait to offer is Domaine Barge. To me this is wine that is like a mini version of Jamet. Especially the Cote Blonde but the Plessy as well. Gilles Barge is making wines of undeniable finesse and freshness in a very traditional way from some of the greatest terroir in Cote Rotie. These wines scream classic Cote Rotie with sizzling bacon, clearly defined fresh and vibrant minerality and tons of smokey complexity. There is so much to love in these wines. They are as "Vielle France" as Cote Rotie gets. Yet pure, vibrant and fresh. No brett. Just clean naked Cote-Rotie. The wines remind me of the magical balance one can get if they somehow merged classic Cornas with Chambolle-Musigny. Another world class completely under the radar wine.

Both of today's wines get the coveted five star review from one of my favorite Rhone Critics out there and that is esteemed John Livingstone-Learmouth whose tasting notes are some of the best in the biz. As accurate as they get. And he is spot on with today's two beautiful examples of traditional Cote Rotie. First up is the 2012 Domaine Barge Cote Rotie "Plessy" for as little as $45.99 a 3-pack (compare older vintages at $51-$60). JLL's review is so spot on here. What I love here is the richness allied with elegance and freshness. It is mainly from the Blonde area and is 95% Syrah and 5% Viognier. This is a very aromatic wine due the viognier and the used oak. You get naked aromas of pure Cote Rotie. So classic. For me and my friends in France we call this "Baby Jamet." It has that outrageous kinky nose and is very feminine and elegant. A Vin de Plaisir.

"dark, properly full robe. The nose expresses power from within, has a concentration of red stone fruit and cassis, an oily raspberry, is handsome and also reduced. The palate has a Blonde sector nature via a wavy spread of strawberry fruit, liqueur plum, the fruiting ripe. Has an appealing and fat centre, heart, and tasty richness that carries well. Has a round, complete finish, snug tannins. Has the potential to be round, spherical. From late 2015. 2025-26. *****" - JLL

I also have a small amount of the estate's brand new debut top cuvee, the Domaine Barge 2013 Cote Rotie Cote Blonde for as little as $64.99 a bottle on a 3-pack. This is the debut vintage and is very very impressive for a top cuvee from the legendary Cote Blonde for only $65 a bottle. There is no comparable pricing as I am the first to offer this little slice of heaven. From vines planted in the 1950's and 1960's this is aged for 30-36 months in 228 litre casks of which 8-10% are new. This is one of the best red wines I have sold at Fass Selections. 2013 is now known as a worthy successor to 2010 although with more misses but the highs are just as high. Only 1,600 bottles are made and I have a small allocation. But I will do what I can do. Below is JLL's note as he captures this perfectly. Five stars as well.

"quite a dark red. The nose is striking, runs broadly, bears attractive red berry, raspberry fruit, just a little meaty undernote - the bouquet indicates a grounded wine. The palate starts in sturdy fashion, holds mulberry-raspberry fruit, live tannins, and is dashing all round. Interesting, has plenty of pep. The fruit lasts very well - it is buoyant, runs well all though. The exit is clear, sympa, the final tannins enjoying a fine grain. From 2019. 2031-33 *****" - JLL

2012 Domaine Barge Cote Rotie "Du Plessy" - $47.99 ($134.97 3-pack)

2013  Domaine Barge Cote Rotie "Cote Blonde" - $67.99 

($194.97 3-pack) (VERY LIMITED)