Côte Rôtie Côte Blonde, Domaine René Rostaing 2012

I think the best wine here (at the moment anyways) is the 2012 Cote Rotie Cote Blonde. More reserved and closed initially, it has subtle, yet seductive notes of black raspberry, blackberry, toasted spice, smoke earth and cured meat that gradually open up in the glass. This is followed by a full-bodied, dense, substantial Cote Rotie that has awesome polish to its tannin, a great mid-palate and a smoking finish. It too needs short-term cellaring, but will keep for 2-3 decades.