2007MarieetPierreBenetiereCoteRotieCordeloux,Rhone,France

<p>Marie and Pierre Bénetière farm just a few steep hectares in Côte-Rôtie, tending impossibly narrow terraces by hand. With a small chai tucked into a cliffside cave in Condrieu, Bénetière has long been admired for his quiet dedication to traditional, site-transparent winemaking—fermenting with native yeasts, aging in neutral oak, and bottling with minimal intervention. Cordeloux is his primary Côte-Rôtie cuvée, sourced from vines rooted in schist and granite on the Côte Brune.</p><p>The 2007 vintage reflects his signature restraint: around 95% Syrah and 5% Viognier, fermented whole cluster and aged in old barrels. Now showing 15+ years of bottle age, this has shed youthful flash for elegance—cool red fruit, cured herb, violet, and iron on a fine, tapering frame. This is Côte-Rôtie with a Burgundian edge: quietly expressive, deeply mineral, and built more on lift than weight.</p><p>A rare bottling from a steadfast traditionalist who works alone, without fanfare—and whose wines have become increasingly elusive.</p>