2012 Cote Rotie Belle Helene

A wine that could flirt with perfection at maturity, the 2012 Cote Rotie Cuvee 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. Dec 2015, www.robertparker.com