Les Trois Frères”
– The Second Wine Made by The Greek’s 3 Sons
– Made for the Brothers and Their Friends
– No One Else Is Getting It – Except Us!
– Sourced from “First Division” Fruit
– Read Between the Lines – They Have Relationships with All of the Top Growers…
– A Major Collector’s Item!
– 590 Bottles. That’s It. I Have a Fraction Of Them – Only 30 today.
2017 Hector Adrien Charalambos Lelektsoglou Cote Rotie
– Nose: Terrific, Bright and High Toned
– Floral and so Complex
– Amalgam of Berries, So Many Flowers
– Black Raspberry and Morello Cherry
– So Clear and So Vivid
– Palate: Unreal Depth of Fruit
– Incredibly Vivacious
– Terrific Energy
– Almost a Floral Extract
– Like Cuchet Beliando and Marquis d’Aligre
– Stacked Like the Best 17s Can Be
The Apogee of “Proper” Cote Rotie
The English use the word “proper” to describe the way that a thing should traditionally be. It’s a great word that conveys so much.
I love “proper” Cote Rotie. When done correctly, it reaches Burgundian heights, arguably like no other wine in the Rhone. The aromatics. The elegance. It’s fantastic.
Today’s wine is just that. I had it recently and it is utterly fantastic.
Sadly, there are only 30 bottles left.
The Greek Wines
First there was the “Trois Filles” St. Joseph and I cannot wait for all of you to taste that but now we have another, even more profound debut. This is easily one of the all time great Greek wines. Father or son. What it also does is establish a price point lower than George’s profound single vineyard Cote Rotie’s the epic Brocarde and Rozier.
The Wine
While those are $130+ the 2017 Hector/Adrian/Charalambos Cote Rotie can be had for $87.99 NET. This is easily a top 5 Greek wine. In no particular order below are my favorites.
2015 Compagnie de l’Hermitage Crozes Hermitage Vieilles Vignes de Gervans
2015 George Lelektsoglou Cote Rotie Les Rozier
2017 Hector/Adrian/Charalambos
2019 Hector/Adrian/Charalambos Lelektsoglou St. Joseph
2017 Georges Lelektsoglou Hermitage Le Cerisae.
As you can see two 17s and two 15s on this list as 17 is the best vintage since 15. Then 19 and then 21. But also 20! An abundance of riches.
All of these George & Sons cuvees have their own distinctive character but also exude that top 1% Rhone elite qualityute profound wine that is like. They are very secretive about fruit sources, elevage and refuse to evaluate their own wines. I get a bottle. I taste it that’s the end of that. Obviously the sourcing is elite it it’s a secret and I’m fine with that. Because the truth is in the bottle and here we are again with an absol a hypothetical blend of Jasmin/Billon and the Greek $130 Rozier/Brocarde blends. This can he drunk young but ideally will blossom in 5 years. For $88 this is an elite value and collector’s item. It’s me or bust.
The nose is just so terrific, bright and high toned like only elite Cote Rotie can be. Mint, leather and an amalgam of berries with so many flowers. My goodness this wine is floral. There is engaging lilac/violet and even dandelion thing going on. It is just insanely floral. It’s intoxicating. Black raspberry and morello cherry all over the nose and unreal floral aromas. Stunning nose and gets more complex with air. Bacon, violets, olive, deep red and blackberry fruit that has such vividness. Mint, menthol undertones and a super mineral granite edge . So deep. Light Boysenberry even develops and some really hard to define nuanced spices. It’s very stylish and refined yet so wafting and detailed. So appealing. So many flowers. Smoke and cassis eventually with air. It’s just crazy. The nose on this wine is absolutely psychotic. Floral and so complex. So smoky (mesquite?), floral and feral. So mineral and full of deep mineralogy like iron and things of that nature. It is so sick, so complex, so nuanced and really is more of a floral/spice thing than a fruit thing but what fruit is there is so clear and so vivid you think it’s a fully expressive fruit expression. But it’s not. In 5 years this will be glorious.
Palate is stunning and this sucker is built to age but 17’s seem more open than 18’s at this stage but like 18 they are built like a brick house for long haul thing is in effect. Really unreal depth of fruit and such amazing freshness. Sweet, soft blackberries. Licorice. Wow. This is so refined and elegant. Amazing fruit purity. More black than red which is a common thing in 17’s. So so long. This is incredible. To be this massive and so refined is quite a feat. Cote Rotie at elite is always elegant. As you swallow, almost a floral extract on the mid that goes to the finish. Wow. So gorgeous. But man does it have crunch. It also has an inner mouth perfume when you swish it around that is blazing with violets galore and elite clarity. Oh swishing this wine in your mouth is something but then the tannins come in something fierce but they are so melty, juicy and velvety. But they are echoed with insane florals. Rose even. Silky. Never had rose flavors in Côte Rotie. Only Barolo. Just unreal florals and a profoundly long finish. There is extraordinary depth here. The wine is profound in every sense of the word. I get giddy thinking how this will turn out in 5-10-15-20-years. It’s like Cuchet Beliando and Marquis d’Aligre In that you cannot stop smelling, drinking or thinking about what’s in the glass. This will stick In your mind for days after tasting. The length tells me a lot. It is long. Like waiting for that red light to change long. Like an annoying long shot in a foreign film from the 60s long. It does not quit. The structure is there and notable as expected but you only notice it because it is harmonious with the fruit, acid and mineral. Make no mistake this is a long term wine. The finesse though for this wine being such a big boy is really something. Palate is stacked like the best 17’s can be. So juicy and structured. What poise, precision and balance. This is very limited.
Please call Cheryl at 949 378 5251 after emailing with your order if you are a first time customer (we prefer not to receive credit card numbers over E-Mail).
OFFICE HOURS 4-7 PM
I love drinking and selecting wines – but my passion for teaching people about wine is almost as big. I’m happy to announce a block of time each day where people can call me just to chat about wine in general. These blocks are NOT intended to sell wine (I do that all day). This is to talk to me about wine pairings or great producers or how long to age wines or styles of wine making or the latest wine controversy. My goal is to help people learn more about wine and enjoy it more. Call me at 917-912-4355 from 4-7EST Monday – Friday.
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