2015 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne
Wine Advocate | Rating: 100
Of all the terrific single-vineyard Cote Roties I tasted at Guigal this year, I’m most confident that this wine will ultimately reach perfection after bottling. The 2015 Cote Rotie La Landonne is incredibly rich and concentrated, yet it remains detailed and complex, with plum and cassis flavors accented by hints of pencil shavings, espresso, black olives, roasted meat and dark chocolate. Full-bodied and solidly built, it combines that power with a velvety feel and a nearly endless finish. Wow.Author: Joe CzerwinskiIssue: 234James Suckling | Rating: 100
This is a profound wine, offering really striking depth of aromas and flavors with a resonance that really stops you still. Dark stones, ripe dark plums and blackberries, licorice, sarsaparilla, orange peel and cloves with still more spices floating in the midst. The palate has such perfectly captured intensity of ripe dark plums and blackberries that it is seemingly impenetrable for now. Yet, the detail is all here. It builds and fills the palate completely with ripe, espresso-laced blackberries, black cherries and dark plums and delivers such freshness at the finish. This is a triumph and up there with the greatest La Landonne releases. Try from 2027.Drink Dates: 2027+Author: James SucklingIssue: Sunday, December 8, 2019Jeb Dunnuck | Rating: 100
As majestic and regal as they come, the 2015 Côte Rôtie La Landonne is another perfect wine. A powerful, full-bodied, massively concentrated Côte Rôtie, it reveals a saturated purple color as well as an insane bouquet of smoked meats, graphite, liquid rocks, violets, and crème de cassis. It’s tannic as all hell, yet deep and flawlessly balanced, with no hard edges and a huge finish. It’s going to require a decade of cellaring to be drinkable but will keep for 40-50 years in cool cellars.Drink Dates: 2030-2080Author: Jeb DunnuckIssue: The Northern Rhône: 2017 and 2018Wine Spectator | Rating: 99
Almost brooding, with warm dark currant, fig and blackberry paste flavors simmering at the core, while waves of ganache, espresso, roasted mesquite and juniper flow through and around them. All the elements are pulled through a seriously long finish by a bolt of smoldering cast iron. This should age glacially. Best from 2025 through 2050. 175 cases imported. — JMDrink Dates: 2025-2050Author: James MolesworthIssue: Nov 30, 2019
See other similar producers:Chapoutier,Domaine Charvin
Syrah is one of the darkest and thickest-skinned varieties, producing wines with intense color, flavors of blueberry, blackberry and boysenberry, and high tannin. Depending on the climate in which it is grown and the winemaking techniques used, Syrah (known as Shiraz in Australia) can come in a wide range of styles. Regardless of style, use of heavy oak is common and the highest quality wines are suitable for long-term ageing.
The best Old-World Syrah comes from the Northern Rhône, where the variety is at its coolest limit for growth. Sites with south-facing slopes are exposed to more sun and produce the highest quality wines with medium body and flavors of berry, hints of pepper and mint, and notes of olive, bacon, meat, and leather with age. Côte-Rôtie and Hermitage are the most famous of these sites, and producers such as E. Guigal, Chave, and Domaine Paul Jaboulet Aîné make some of the world’s best wines from Syrah.
In the New World, Australia is the most famous region for high-quality wines from Shiraz. The warm climates of Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale produce full-bodied, intensely fruity wines displaying notes of earth and spice and developing leather with age. A leaner, more peppery style is made in cooler regions with the best examples coming from Eden Valley. Australian producers such as Penfolds, Torbreck, and Henschke have garnered international recognition for making world-class wines from Shiraz.
One cannot talk about New-World Syrah without recognizing the work of Californian producers, most notably Sine Qua Non, Colgin, and Alban, who have also gained international recognition for the quality of their wines from Syrah.
The delicate flavors of cooler climate Syrah from the Northern Rhône and Sonoma make it an ideal pairing for dishes like lamb or eggplant. The bold flavors of warmer climate Shiraz from Australia pair well with barbeque pork and chicken, short ribs, and steak.