2011 Domaine René Rostaing Côte-Rôtie La Landonne

More substantial, with a meaty, muscular feel, the 2011 Cote Rotie La Landonne exhibits lots of olive tapenade, underbrush, crushed rock and blackberry-styled fruit on the nose. Full-bodied, nicely concentrated (especially for a 2011) and yet voluptuously textured, with moderate, fine tannin, it will round into form relatively early, yet evolve gracefully for 15-20 years. A bastion of traditional wine making, Rene Rostaing (who previously worked in real-estate) has been working the vineyards of Cote Rotie for the past 40 years, yet didn’t really switch to wine full time until the 1990s. He now owns roughly 20 acres of prime terroir, spread across 14 lieux-dits and 20 separate plots (there can be multiple plots within a lieu-dit). Since 1996, he has produced three separate Cote Roties; the Classique (which is now label Ampodium), the La Landonne, and his personal favorite, the Cote Blonde. He has excelled in both 2011 and 2012. In addition to his superb Northern Rhones, Rene also releases a knockout, Syrah-dominated bottling from the Pic Saint-Loup region in the Languedoc. I’ll review those efforts in the upcoming Languedoc issue. Importer: Manny Berk, The Rare Wine Co., Sonoma, CA; tel. (707) 996-4484

Saturated ruby. Deeply pitched aromas of dark berries, cherry, tobacco and violet. Sweet, lush and deeply concentrated, with chewy texture and flavors of bitter cherry, blackberry and floral pastilles lifted by a peppery element. Possesses very good depth and energy, with chewy tannins adding grip to the smoky, persistent finish. Showing uncommon structure and broad-shouldered character for the vintage but doesn't come off heavy; I doubt I'd have guessed this was from 2011 if I'd been served it blind.

Less perfumed than the Côte Blonde. Hint of tobacco and tea leaf along with fine small-berried dark fruit and an attractive dustiness. Some sweet blueberry emerges. Then more stemmy on the palate. Fine grained, fresh, persistent and lively. (JH)