Wine Advisor
Delas, Cote Rotie La Landonne 2010
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Reviewed by: Jeb Dunnuck
Up with some of the greatest Cote Roties out there is Delas's 2010 Cote Rotie la Landonne. Revealing an inky purple color as well as an incredible perfume of spring flowers, violets, black raspberries, graphite and Asian spice, it has drop-dead gorgeous purity, full-bodied richness and a seamless, layered texture that fails to completely cover the wine's underlying tannic grip. Made from 100% Syrah and aged 16 months in new French oak, hide bottles in the cellar for another 4-5 years and enjoy them over the following three decades.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Flirting with perfection, the 2010 Cote Rotie La Landonne offers up scents of black truffles, incense, smoked game, creosote, spring flowers and black fruits. Full-bodied with mouth-staining tannin as well as mouth-saturating extract and richness, this powerful, strikingly intense 2010 is young and unevolved, but it is filled with potential. Interestingly, Jacques Grange told me this cuvee was made from 100% destemmed fruit. Forget this wine for 4-5 years, and drink it over the following three decades. Over the last 10-15 years, Delas Freres, which had muddled along with no great distinction for many years, has hit full stride under the ownership of the Louis Roederer-Deutz Champagne firm and the management of Jacques Grange, who continues to push the envelope of quality for both the Northern and Southern Rhone selections. The top single vineyard wines are world class in every sense, often flirting with perfection. Moreover, readers should realize this is also an impressive source for value. Delas’s top St.-Joseph cuvee comes from the hillside vineyards overlooking the small commune of St.-Jean de Muzols. The Delas firm owns 25 acres in Hermitage from which they make a basic cuvee, called Domaine des Tourettes, and, in the greatest vintages, a luxury cuvee, Les Bessards, which comes entirely from the great lieu-dit of the same name. Delas has long had a reputation for making outstanding Condrieu, of which he makes two cuvees. Importer: Maison Marques et Domaines, Oakland, CA; tel. (510) 587-2000
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The black-colored 2010 Cote Rotie La Landonne displays notes of charcoal, black truffles, creosote, blackberries, incense, subtle barbecue smoke and hints of espresso as well as white chocolate. This amazingly complex, full-bodied, powerful 2010 will need 7-8 years of cellaring, and should last three decades or more. (Not yet released) Another great negociant with significant vineyard holdings, and at the top of their game, is undeniably Delas, owned by the Louis Roederer/Deutz Champagne firm. Since they acquired Delas well over a decade ago, this firm has been under the management of Burgundian Jacques Grange, who has done an outstanding job producing a sensational array of wines. The 2009s appear to be their finest overall performances to date, and the 2010s are noteworthy successors in a more restrained, mineral dominated, crisper style. Jacques Grange did a fabulous job with his Cote Roties in both 2009 and 2010, the latter being a somewhat more challenging vintage in this appellation. The Hermitage Domaine des Tourettes (until the 2009 vintage, this offering was known as the Hermitage Marquise de la Tourette) is sensational in both 2010 and 2009. Three thousand cases of this cuvee are produced, and the wine is aged in French oak, 50% new. Importer: Maison Marques et Domaines, Oakland, CA; tel. (510) 587-2000
About the Producer
The famous Drass Frère wine company was founded in 1835. Since 1996, the spirit and soul that contributed to the reputation of quality wines has been restored. At present, the Dras brothers have a total of 30 hectares of vineyards, 10 of which are in the Emmettage-Hermitage appellation, 2 in Saint-Joseph and the remaining 18 in Croze-Hermitage. The steep granite hillsides provide favourable growing conditions for the vineyards of the Hermitage appellation, which produces the best quality wines. The grapes are hand-harvested and the fruit is intact and not prone to premature crushing, and in 1996 the estate was renovated by replacing all the old stainless steel fermentation vats with 85 litre concrete vats, and the 2,500 litre old oak barrels were replaced by 600 Burgundy oak barrels. The renovation of the equipment has allowed the winery to separate the fermentation of different batches of grapes, set the fermentation temperature according to the needs of the different varieties, and to monitor them in a targeted manner. The winery uses the gravity artesian method in the vinification process, where the fruit is crushed and poured by gravity into the fermentation vats. After fermentation and pressing, the wine is decanted into oak barrels where malolactic fermentation takes place. The main grape variety is Syrah, but the estate also produces some white wines, mainly made from Marsanne and Viognier. The wines of the Delas Brothers include Domaine des Tourettes, Les Bessards, Seigneur de Maugiron and Francois de Tournon. Francois de Tournon, among others.
