E. Guigal Cote Rotie Brune et Blonde 1992

The Côte Blonde and the Côte Brune

The wines from the Côte Blonde (immediately west of Ampuis) are lighter, fruitier, more sumptuous and approachable at an earlier age. Those from the Côte Brune (immediately above Ampuis) are made in a more structured, tannic, extracted style to capitalize on the effect of the iron soils, and often without an addition of Viognier.

The Côte Blonde is, as its name suggests, a hillside covered with lighter-colored sandy soils and a limestone base. The Côte Brune is no less true to its name, being a slope covered with reddish-brown soils, enriched with iron.

The soils of many Syrah/Shiraz-favored vineyards in Australia share this iron-rich soil type, and the temperatures to match. In fact, Côte Rôtie means “roasted slope” in French, a highly appropriate name for many of the south-facing vineyards, which benefit from maximum exposure to the sun’s rays.