Cote Nicault is a story about Gilles Nicault, one of Washington’s great winemakers. His family has a history in agriculture dating back to the 1930s in Africa. Growing up Gilles was exposed to the great wines of the Rhone Valley by his father who was an enophile.
Gilles eventually decided to study winemaking and viticulture at the acclaimed University of Avignon. It was a huge move for Gilles to move to the United States and he landed in Walla Walla back in 1994, working for Woodward Canyon. Working there he realized that wines from Washington State rivaled anything in the world. He was then the first winemaker for Long Shadows Vintners in 2003, and for many years he has served as Director of Winemaking and Viticulture there.
Côte Nicault is a Rhone inspired wine that Gilles makes each year. The wine is all about balance between Mourvèdre, Grenache and Syrah. It is a very different wine to the Long Shadows ‘Sequel’ — one with more finesse, subtlety and nuance. I absolutely love the new 2019 Côte Nicault Red Wine (OB, 95) which is deep and concentrated with pure dark fruits and herbal accents. This beauty is already nicely evolved. Learn more about these great wine at https://www.cotenicault.com and here is the great new future release by Côte Nicault.
2019 Côte Nicault Red Wine- The 2019 Côte Nicault is a downright killer wine from this slightly cooler vintage in the Columbia Valley. The Côte Nicault blends Mourvèdre, Grenache and Syrah and comes off quite spicy on the nose, with white pepper dusted bacon, red currants, tobacco leaf and shades of black licorice. The palate is rich and concentrated with a great mineral backbone that holds everything together nicely. A generous combination of red and dark fruits greet you, with garrigue and blood orange zest notes, as this beauty is already singing at the four year mark. Enjoy now and over the next ten plus years. Drink 2023-2035- 95