Granted, this may not possess quite the grandeur of the Rochins, but it’s actually half from Cote-Roties and half from just outside the appellation, in Saint Cyr. And for what it is (essentially Cote-Rotie made to drink well early), it’s an incredible value.
Jonathan Livingstone-Learmonth (the foremost British Rhone critic) says:
Clear, bright red robe; has a nicely springy nose, a good collection of red fruits, dark red fruit with licorice and a gentle floral tone present. The palate offers a pleasing run of cherry fruit, very mild tannins right inside. Its fruit really engages, is w.o.w. wine with natural verve, the fruit very neat and inviting, including at the end. Drink early for best results. “There is truly a lot of fruit, and it is pleasing, gourmand, not a wine to wait for. We had the luck to have rain around 20 August - 25-30 mm [1-1.2 in] - which allowed us to finish the ripening, otherwise the tannins would have been more hard – the rain softened the skins.
By w.o.w. wine, he means “wine one wants” – a particular distinction for him.
Gilman says:
The 2022 Syrah “Sensation du Nord” from Patrick and Christophe Bonnefond is a lovely bottle and an excellent value. As I have mentioned in the past, this is made from some of the brothers’ younger vines, but raised in used demi-muids and is a fine value. The 2022 version comes in at an even thirteen percent octane and offers up a classic nose of cassis, grilled meats, pepper, coffee bean, dark soil tones, smoke and a hint of hazelnut in the upper register. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied and quite approachable on the attack, with lovely soil inflection and grip, moderate, buried tannins and fine length on the complex and well balanced finish. This has the touch of fluidité in the mid-palate that one expects from young vines, but in most other aspects, it is like drinking a middleweight example of Côte-Rôtie. The wine is certainly tasty out of the blocks, but it has enough underlying tannin that a couple of years in the cellar would be well rewarded. Good juice.
