Domaine Bonserine, Cote Rotie, Vialliere

Nice soft Côte-Rôtie, matches well e.g. with reindeer soup.

2021 vintage

15 years in the box, my final btl of this. Really remarkably lovely spot-on aged N Rhone. Dark fruits, mushrooms, smoked brisket, and gobs of iron. Some dried flowers on the finish. Really polished. This has aged very well and held up much better than I would have expected given its humble breeding and the vintage. Did I really buy this for $19?!

2003 vintage

Open in the bottle for about an hour or two. Nose is seductive with old library books, cherries, dried blueberries, a bit of clayey earth. Palate is alive, juicy and fresh despite being 20 years old. More juicy red cherries and blackberries, hint of leather, baking spices. Not life-changing but really quite delicious and in a good spot.

2003 vintage

The 4th time I have had this wine and my last bottle. We drank this next to a 2006 Delas Hermitage which I liked better. Decanted 2 hours before drinking. Crimson color. Moderately sedimented. The cork came out easily. Notes of Cherries and bacon fat. Loose tannins. 90 points

2003 vintage

Seriously?! Gorgeous nose of dark plums, mushrooms, soy sauce, and just a little bit of brett. Very soft and silky in the mouth. Very classic and typical for an aged northern Rhone. That I paid $19 for this at K&L back in the day is ridiculous. I do not know the Domaine, but this is stupid good and keeps getting better. On a cold gray night, this is lovely.

2003 vintage

Just found three bottles (oops!) Remarkably fresh fruit over subtle tannins. A beautifully balanced Cote-Rotie. No doubt not the brute it once was, but a joy. Like a well made pinot noir. Drink up!

2003 vintage

Wondering how 2003 Rhones were showing, so we opened this and an 03 Pegau, and both were rocking. This had a deep nose of iron, blood, charcoal, roasted plums, anise, pepper. Solid structure, medium-low acid but so delicious with roasted plums and black cherry fruit, still juicy but smoothed out and velvety at this point. Laced with smoky, charcoal, savory herbs, pepper. This was gone too quickly, but I would love to taste this on day 2.

2003 vintage

Didn't give this wine much of a chance to open up, as we poured without a decant. The nose was extraordinary with lots of spice, black fruit and tar. My first impression is that this is a very well constructed Rhone with lots of layers and concentration. It just may take a while(maybe a few hours) to deconstruct it. It does seem to have the guts, though, as we linger and analyze. We all like it and it seems to …

2003 vintage

Last bottle. I like the acid and the profile on this wine. But there has always been a flaw of some strange, furry textured sediment that just won't settle when you stand up the bottle. You think it's settled out but there it is all over the inside of your glass.

2003 vintage

Dinner with Friends (D&J Bistro, Lake Zurich) : Double decanted off its sediment and poured about three hours later with our entrees. Red berry, bacon, rose petal and pepper notes. Fully integrated on the palate with flavors of red berry fruit, pepper and roasted game. Drink now.

2003 vintage

As before the best glass was the last, probably 8 hours after I opened it. Smooth, rustic, balanced.

2003 vintage

A swathe of European 2003s (Chicago, IL) : While all the elements of a good syrah are there, this is just all put together in the wrong way, like Frankenstein's monster if good Doctor Frankenstein were blind. Bizarrely, this seems to be an acid-driven wine, which totally doesn't jive with the ripe fruit flavours. There's a touch of meat and olive, but only barely. Somehow it seems this was simultaneously picked too early and too late.

2003 vintage

Interesting, though odd. Dark fruit profile, medium weight, good acid...but lacking heavier earth/meat/herb elements to be expected. Hints of it there, but they're light. One of the better bottles in a tasting of 03 European wines, but just an ok bottle overall.

2003 vintage

3rd time I have had this wine and the best bottle yet. Opened but not decanted 3 hours before dinner. Paired with smoked bacon wrapped duck breasts. Showing some notes of bacon fat with rich black fruit. Medium body. 91 points.

2003 vintage

Second Sunday Group: 2011 Bordeaux & others (Mike's) : Initially a bit light, thin and generic, this needed a good hour to reveal itself. Initial bouquet was quite generic- red fruit and not much else, but blossomed to include aromas of white pepper, bacon fat and floral aromas. On the lighter side of medium-bodied and fully integrated in terms of the tannins, this was showing very nicely. Red berries and spice with meaty undertones. Medium+ finish. 91+ pts.

2003 vintage

Decanted 3 hours which was perfect, but it started to fade after 4. Drinking very nicely. Textbook complex profile of red and black fruit, bacon, violet, mineral, pepper, and herb. Surprisingly juicy and fresh for a hot vintage, but I've been finding that in 2003 Northern Rhone lately. Go figure. Very dusty tannins and a drop in intensity on the finish are the only detractors. That, and it was a bit more impressive as a cocktail wine. Not as firm …

2003 vintage

Agree with Dollarmenuaire, also decanted 2-3 hour, drinking very nicely right now. I had planned to hold for a little longer but needed to bring to a tasting, showed very well.

2003 vintage

Really nice- too bad they are all gone. Very floral nose.

2003 vintage

Drank next to a Texier Cote-Rotie. Quite the contrast. 2003 was a hot year and this wine is typical of that. Dark purple color. Big nose of dark cherries, cola and black licorice. Ripe dark fruit on the palate to go with the black licorice and cola. Enough acid to give it personality and balance. At about the 3-hour mark the wine really sang. This is how to craft a hot temperature year without letting the ripeness get away from …

2003 vintage

This is in a really good place for me tonight. After about 5 hours of double decanting this was all cassis, leather, tobacco and some sanguine notes with a touch of brett in the backround in a med bodied format. This is the best bottle of the lot so far.

2003 vintage

Beautiful wine. Complex and sophisticated. Cote Rotie, where have you been all my life?

2003 vintage

Opened about an hour before dinner; not decanted. Paired with pork belly. Opaque crimson color. Terrific bouquet featuring aromas of black fruit, olive, bacon, roasted game, violets, licorice, sea water and blackberry jam. Medium-bodied, with flavors of white pepper, clove, black fruit, licorice and plum. Shows nice weight and balance across the palate and finishes with good length. In a terrific place right now; drink now-2015+.

2003 vintage

This wine has finally reached the entry point of its maturity plateau. The tannins have dissipated to the degree that the aromas and flavors are more appreciable. As I did six months ago, I tasted it with the original Les Impitoyables tasting glass for reds. I get blackberry, soft black currant, raspberry, much more bacon fat than last time, saddle leather, black pepper and smoke. There is still some tannin, but not nearly as intense as with prior tastings. Rich …

2003 vintage

Elegant old world wine. Earthy. It evolved nicely over the few hours we had it open. Ready to go, it has some life left.

2003 vintage

Gorgeous. Drinking perfectly right now. Purple to the rim, plenty of fruit but notes of leather, tobacco, lead pencil. Down to 1 bottle....oh well.

2003 vintage

nose: well balanced and aromatic nose of black fruits, bacon fat, some black cherries, and black pepper. Decent depth, but not showing any harshness with good dark fruits taste: medium/full bodied with some good tannins. They are a bit on the stern side, but aren't overbearing. Well balanced with tones of bacon fat, black pepper, black fruits and some smoke tones overall: this was decanted for an hour and a half. Has a nice dark ruby color with a very …

2003 vintage

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Domaine Bonserine, Cote Rotie, Vialliere

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