Wine Advisor
Delas, Cote Rotie La Landonne 2018
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Joe Czerwinski
Marked by some herbal and raspberry notes on the nose, the 2018 Cote Rotie La Landonne also boasts plenty of blueberries. In fact, it's surprisingly fruit-driven for this vineyard, and I didn't recognize it blind. It's medium to full-bodied, with ample concentration and texture, and has a long, concentrated finish. I wouldn't be surprised to see it improve over its next year of élevage.
Reviewed by: Joe Czerwinski
The dark-hued 2018 Cote Rotie La Landonne remains one of the stars of the Delas stable. Hints of thyme and sage appear on the nose alongside deep mocha shadings, raspberries and blueberries. Concentrated and tannic, this medium to full-bodied wine demands at least short-term cellaring, but all indications are that aging will be amply rewarded. There's a rich, velvety mouthfeel, plenty of gorgeous fruit and a tannic—but ripe—finish that lingers for what must be over a minute.
Reviewed by: Josh Raynolds
Glass-staining ruby. Displays an array of intensely perfumed black and blue fruit scents that are complemented and energized by suggestions of candied flowers, exotic spices and smoky minerals. Expansive, smoke- and spice-accented blueberry, blackberry and cherry-cola flavors show superb clarity and take on allspice, olive and cracked pepper notes as the wine opens up. Weighty as well as lithe, finishing extremely long and minerally, with the floral and cherry notes echoing.
Reviewed by: Josh Raynolds
Expansive blackberry, cherry liqueur, incense and licorice aromas are complemented by suggestions of olive, smoky minerals and vanilla. Sweet, penetrating and focused on the palate, offering impressively concentrated but energetic black and blue fruit preserve, violet pastille and succulent herb flavors that show outstanding power and sharp definition. Smoothly plays power off finesse and finishes extremely long and minerally, with fine-grained tannins coming in late.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
Smelling this is like reclining into a huge leather sofa! Very rich and concentrated, but also with a major structure that will need some time to completely resolve. As it aerates, it grows in complexity, gaining a lot of subtle herbal and spice notes. Very long finish with a great interplay of mineral and savory notes. Drink or hold.
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.
