E. Guigal, Cote Rotie, La Landonne 2006

A surprisingly structured, full-bodied, masculine wine in the vintage is the 2006 Cote Rotie la Landonne. Still inky colored and loaded with notions of beef blood, black olive, peppery herbs, smoke and scorched earth-like minerality, it still needs another 3-4 years of cellaring to start to be approachable. It will certainly be one of the longest-lived wines in the vintage and will have 3-4 decades of overall longevity.

The 2006 Cote Rotie La Landonne may merit a three digit score by the time it is bottled. A dense purple color is accompanied by an extraordinary bouquet of burning embers, espresso roast, black currants, blackberry liqueur, and pain grille. With aeration, bacon fat and licorice characteristics also emerge. The sweetness of the tannin, the extraordinary intensity of the flavors, and the remarkable finish suggest this is another legendary effort from Marcel Guigal and his son, Philippe.