2012 Guigal Cote Rotie la Landonne

The utterly perfect 2012 Côte Rôtie La Landonne is the star of three single vineyards in 2012. Possessing an off-the-charts sexiness in its layered, concentrated and full-bodied style, it has a wealth of fruit, ripe tannin, a stacked mid-palate and pedal-to-the-metal notes of black fruits, scorched earth, caramelized meats and crushed rocks. While this cuvée normally needs a decade to become drinkable, there’s a sweetness of fruit here that allows it to offer incredible pleasure even today. Nevertheless, give bottles 5-6 years and enjoy over the following three decades.