Wine Advisor
Etienne Guigal, Cote Rotie La Landonne 1999
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Description
Côte-Rôtie « La Landonne » completes this famous trilogy. An immense and pure wine with intense flavours and deep colour, this is the perfect wine for ageing.
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Jeb Dunnuck
For drinking today, it doesn't get better than the 1999 Cote Rotie la Landonne (the '99 la Mouline maybe). A monumental Cote Rotie, it offers an incredible perfume of cassis, licorice, smoked game and roasted herbs (among other things), full-bodied richness, a seamless texture and a finish that just won't quit. While a massive wine, with incredible concentration and density, this beauty is lively, elegant and weightless, with sweet, polished tannin. Perfumed and upfront on this occasion, it was served blind at the end of the retrospective and I actually thought it was the 1990.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
I have given perfect scores to other vintages of La Landonne, but the black/purple-colored 1999 Cote Rotie La Landonne may be the finest effort Guigal has ever coaxed out of this vineyard. It appears less animalistic than usual, offering gorgeously pure notes of incense, melted road tar, fried bacon, blackberries, blueberries, smoked meats, and vanilla. Literally out of this world in terms of flavor concentration and balance, the finish lasts well over 60 seconds. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2030. What is so remarkable about this cuvee is its tremendous layers of flavor, awesome texture, and perfect balance. This is an astonishing offering from one of the world’s greatest winemakers. Importer: Fred Ek, Ex Cellars Wine Agencies, Solvang, CA; tel. (805) 686-9153
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The 1999 Cote Rotie La Landonne seemed to be something from another world. It is inky black/purple in color, with an extraordinary nose of roasted nuts, charcoal, licorice, truffles, leather, roast beef, and jammy blackberry and cassis fruit. In the mouth, it is enormous, but brilliantly balanced, low in acidity (despite Guigal's comments about the vintage), with unreal levels of glycerin and extract. The tannins high, so this wine will probably require 10-12 years of aging. It will keep for 40+ years. (Not yet released) Importer: Fred Ek, Ex Cellars Wine Agencies, Solvang, CA; tel. (805) 686-9153
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
This wine is perfect. It is undoubtedly the greatest vintage for Guigal since 1978. Take all the characteristics I described for the wines in 1998 and 1997, then add an ethereal lightness of character, surreal aromatics, and a seamlessness that is uncanny given the massive richness and layers of flavors this wine possesses. The explosive aromatics tend to be more exaggerated in 1999. The wine is more evolved and seductive than the 1998s, but its aging potential should not be underestimated. It has at least 30-40 years of life. In short, Guigal has performed a classic hat trick in 1999 with his La La's. It will be released in February, 2003. Importer: Fred Ek, Ex Cellars Wine Agencies, Solvang, CA; tel. (805) 686-9153
About the Producer
In 1946, Etienne Guigal founded Château Guigal in the village of Ampuis, the winemaking heart of the Rhône. The village of Ampuis is rich in history, with vineyards that are over 2,400 years old and buildings that still date back to Roman times, and it was here that Etienne Guigal arrived in 1923 at the age of 14. He decided to devote himself to winemaking, which he did for more than 67 years. In 1961, the young Marcel Guigal took over the management of the estate from his father. Thanks to Marcel's efforts, Château Guigal began to acquire some well-known wineries and grew in strength.
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