Côte Rôtie La Landonne, Etienne Guigal 2018

The 2018 Côte Rôtie La Landonne is a different beast, as always. Inky black-hued, with a monster of a nose revealing tons of smoked black fruits, cured meats, tobacco, ground pepper, and graphite. It has an almost Pauillac-like profile and is full-bodied, deep, and concentrated on the palate, with building tannins, flawless balance, and a huge finish. Pure raw power, this needs at least a decade of bottle age and will be one of the longest-lived wines in the vintage.

Subtle hints of fresh pea shoots accent characteristic dark notes of roasted meat, espresso and black olives in the full-bodied 2018 Cote Rotie La Landonne. Rich, concentrated and velvety-textured, with ample length and plenty of ripe tannins on the finish, it should benefit from a decade or more of bottle age—once it gets there. It's a brooding beast of a Cote Rotie that serious collectors will want to have in their cellars. 2025 - 2045

Lastly, the 2018 Côte Rôtie La Landonne is pure magic in the making and lends credence to the suggestion that Côte Rôtie is the shining star in 2018. The typical 100% Syrah aged in new French oak, it has a pure, vivid bouquet of blue fruits, wood smoke, charred meats, and graphite. While it’s unmistakably La Landonne with its meaty, masculine style, it has stunning purity of fruit. This massive, full-bodied, monster of a barrel sample is going to require patience.

Another candidate for perfection, the 2018 Cote Rotie La Landonne has more of everything. More spice, more florals, more dark fruit, more concentration, more length—you get the idea. Violets accent black cherries in this full-bodied wine, which must be the easiest (98 - 100) rating I've ever given.