Côte Rôtie Belle Hélène, Domaine Stéphane Ogier 2012

A wine that could flirt with perfection at maturity, the 2012 Côte Rôtie Cuvée Belle Helene is the polar opposite of the perfumed, finesse styled Lancement and offers a dense, powerful, masculine personality. Inky-colored, full-bodied, sensationally concentrated and still balanced and seamless, it offers a serious bouquet of dark fruits (cassis, black raspberries), crushed rock, charcoal, graphite and wood smoke. The more rounded style of the 2012 vintage gives this a touch of upfront charm, but it really needs 6-7 years of cellaring and will have three decades or more of longevity.