Domaine Billon Christophe Les Elotins Côte-Rôtie 2020

Christophe Billon has been creating charming and structured Syrah wines from the severe slopes of Côte-Rôtie since 1991 – though his family’s roots in the area trace back to 1942. Scoring double 93 points, his 2020 Les Elotins takes fruit from four of the family’s prized plots to forge an immaculately balanced and endlessly rich Syrah, now over $35 off typical retail!

Christophe Billon is a true working winemaker in every sense of the term. He spent his days working at Guigal for many years as he built his own domaine on the side, and though he started Domaine Billon in 1991, it wasn’t until 2007 that he was able to make the move to focusing on the winery full-time. In 2015, his son Corentin came on board to support the family business after completing his wine education.

Their estate – located at the top of the hill looking over the northern Rhône town of Ampuis – has swiftly become known for quality and care in all the wines they produce. Côte Rôtie is essentially separated into two types of terroir – the northern “Brune” side with dark schist soils, and the southern “Blonde” side with loose granite soils. Christophe’s estate owns 25 acres of vineyard holdings on both sides, and Les Elotins is sourced from Le Goutay and Combard in the Blonde side, offering whimsical floral and red fruited notes, along with fruit from Les Moutonnes and Côte Baudin in the Brune side, providing more pronounced tannic structure to the wine. All the estate’s vines are sustainably farmed and mostly tended to by hand due to the steep, terraced hillsides of most parcels.

“Very classic and not far off the quality of his Viallière and Côte-Rozier this year, so this is a smart buy.” – Decanter, 93 Points

With 97% Syrah and 3% Viognier, this wine ages for 22 months in 1 to 2-year-old barrels to allow the full fruit expression to come through – a medley of blackberry, black currant, black cherry covered in a flourish of holiday spices. Violets, black licorice, smoked meats, and a touch of incense come in with a rich intensity that softens into leather and vanilla on the ample finish. Fine-grained tannins and a medium intensity give this outstanding wine a classy but approachable air that any Syrah fan will fawn over, even drawing comparisons to his wines that push into the $100 to $200 threshold. We can’t get enough ourselves and would happily pay the usual retail price of $85 for this gem, but today you can get two for a hair over the price of one! Math’s not always my thing, but that’s an equation I’m all for.

PAIRING IDEAS: Give this a sophisticated seared lamb chop topped with mint chimichurri sauce for something simple yet elevated and decadent to hold up next to this rich Syrah.