2016 e. guigal, cote rotie, la landonne

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Why We're Buying

Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne proves that perfection is obtainable. Wine critic Robert Parker has given it not one, not two, but 11 100-point ratings. Not only does La Landonne deliver unparalleled quality, but the red wine also has a 40-to-50-year aging potential. After trying the 2009 vintage, fellow critic Jeb Dunnuck called it "one of the greatest Syrahs ever produced."

Critics Scores

Jeb Dunnuck

The 2016 Côte Rôtie La Landonne shows the more elegant and classical style of the vintage. As always, it’s 100 Syrah, from a great terroir in the Côte Brune side of the appellation, that will spend 48 months in new French oak barrels. It has textbook La Landonne notes of smoked meats, black fruits, and crushed rocks as well as full-bodied richness, surprising elegance and finesse for this cuvée (but that’s the vintage), flawless balance, and a great finish. I suspect it will have some early charm, but I’d still recommend 7-8 years of bottle age.

Vinous

Bright purple. A deeply perfumed bouquet evokes ripe dark berries, cherry liqueur, incense and potpourri, while olive and exotic spice nuances build in the glass. Intense, alluringly sweet black/blue fruit, spicecake and violet pastille flavors show sharp delineation and a spine of juicy acidity. Closes extremely long and precise, displaying a smoky, intensifying mineral quality and youthfully gripping tannins that build steadily.

Decanter

Not destemmed. Always the deepest and most austere of the single vineyard 'La La' wines, the 2016 La Landonne exhibits some classic peppery spice and smoky bacon aromatics alongside dark plum and roast espresso - intense, vivid and expressive in aroma. It's full-bodied, concentrated and dense in style, and at this stage the oak is just about in balance. Lush, concentrated fruit is allied to a sinewy texture coming from the stems. It's quite grainy, in fact, but the tannins are sure to resolve during their extended oak ageing - the wine is only at the start of its long elevage, and will spend a total of 42 months in new oak barriques, reaching the market in early 2020.

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2016 Côte Rôtie La Landonne is showing a bit more grip than last time I tasted it, with hints of green coffee bean on the nose alongside ripe black cherries and a heap of dried spices. Medium to full-bodied, with ample concentration and plenty of tannin, it should prove to be the longest-lived of Guigal's 2016s.

Wine Spectator

This sports some ripe black cherry, bitter plum and black currant fruit flavors allied to a bolt of cast iron through the middle, while mesquite, bay leaf and savory notes scurry about. Shows lots of energy and detail on the finish, with the cast iron edge extending lengthily. Should cruise in the cellar.