Etienne Guigal, Cote Rotie La Landonne 2004

robert_parker94

Reviewed by: Jeb Dunnuck

One of the most elegant and ready-to-drink la Landonnes in the past 10-12 years is the 2004 Cote Rotie la Landonne. Already perfumed and complex, with beautiful smoked beef, rose petals, forest floor and sweet dark fruits, it almost has a Pinot Noir-like elegance and seamlessness. Medium to full-bodied, concentrated, and with nicely integrated acidity, drink it anytime over the coming decade.

robert_parker94

Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Not surprisingly, the 2004 Cote Rotie La Landonne has the densest ruby/purple color, more structure than its two siblings, with scorched earth, roasted meat, and truffle and asphalt notes. Layered, rich, and backward, it requires 2-3 years of cellaring and should last 15 or more years. Importer: Fred Ek and Patrick Will, Ex Cellars Wine Agencies, Solvang, CA; tel. (805) 686-9153

robert_parker90

Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.

There are 1,000 cases of the dark ruby/purple-tinged 2004 Cote Rotie La Landonne. It reveals a smoky/meaty character along with blackberry and cassis fruit. Rich, ripe, full-bodied, tannic, and intense, it is a tour de force in a vintage such as 2004. Drink it over the next 15+ years. As always, a tasting at Guigal is an opportunity to receive several years’ worth of wine education in one day (that’s how long it takes to go through all the bottles and barrels). Marcel Guigal is obviously a brilliant businessman, but most importantly, he understands vineyards, how to get maximum quality from them, and how to make wines, at all different price levels. From his Cotes du Rhones to Cote Roties, these wines are as good as one is likely to find. When I first visited Guigal nearly thirty years ago, this was a relatively small firm. Today, his may be the most successful wine operation in France. Guigal attributes his success to hard work and never being satisfied with the status quo. He pays the highest prices of any negociant for the fruit used to fashion his Cotes du Rhone as well as other negociant wines. He has also been extraordinarily adept at buying fabulous terroirs, as evidenced by his purchase of the De Vallouit properties in Crozes-Hermitage and Hermitage as well as Grippat’s top-notch vineyard holdings in St.-Joseph. Along with the late Thomas Jefferson, Guigal has always believed that white Hermitage is France’s greatest white wine. With his recent acquisitions of superb vineyard sites, he is hell-bent on proving to the world that Jefferson was correct – that white Hermitage is an amazing as well as long-lived wine. In top vintages, two cuvees are produced, the regular offering (usually a blend of primarily Marsanne with a touch of Roussanne) and the luxury cuvee called Ex-Voto, which is generally 95% Marsanne and 5% Roussanne from two stunning vineyards. Eighty percent comes from Les Murets (regarded as one of the appellation’s finest white wine vineyards) and 20% from l’Ermite.Tasting through Guigal’s new and up-coming releases confirms his legendary consistency. He is the quintessential multitasker, fashioning inexpensive fine wines as well as super-luxurious, utterly profound reds and whites. When Guigal purchased the Grippat holdings, he received six acres of the Vignes de l’Hospice, a stunningly steep, photogenic vineyard at the top of the northern sector of St.-Joseph, looking down on the town of Tournon. These are the same decomposed granitic soils found across the river in Hermitage’s Les Bessards vineyard. Everything Guigal has produced from this vineyard has been as profound as St.-Joseph can be. In fact, his only competitor is Michel Chapoutier’s 500 or so cases of St.-Joseph Les Granits. Marcel’s talented son, Philippe, is taking over more and more of the business, and appears more than capable of filling the extraordinary shoes of his father, who I doubt will ever retire. I reviewed Guigal’s Cotes du Rhones and Chateauneuf du Papes in issue #173 (October, 2007), but he also continues to be an active buyer of high quality juice from Gigondas. He accomplishes this by tasting hundreds of samples, visiting 50-60 caves, and paying the highest price for his purchases. Guigal is unquestionably the most important producer of Cote Rotie. He buys grapes from nearly four dozen small growers, and supplements that from his own holdings. The single vineyard cuvees are excluded from this blend, but all his Cote Roties are vinified in his cellars. Guigal produces around 2,000 cases of Cote Rotie Chateau d’Ampuis, a cuvee he first made in 1995. About 7% Viognier is included in the blend, and the sources for the fruit are all fabulous sites from both the Cote Blonde and Cote Brune. According to Guigal, research in France’s National Archives prove that in its past, Chateau d’Ampuis produced Cote Rotie from these same sites Importer: Fred Ek and Patrick Will, Ex Cellars Wine Agencies, Solvang, CA; tel. (805) 686-9153

robert_parker93

Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Licorice, espresso roast, asphalt, and an essence of mineral character emerge from the 2004 Cote Rotie La Landonne. It is the densest, deepest-colored, and most virile and muscular of these 2004s, and should benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age. It will age for 15+ years. Marcel and Philippe Guigal, never content to rest on their already impressive credentials, announced that in the future, they expect to release another single vineyard Cote Rotie from a 3.7 acre parcel in the Viria vineyard on the Cote Brune. The first vintage or two will probably be added to the Chateau d’Ampuis. If the potential turns out to be as exceptional as they believe, lovers of these great wines will have a fourth single vineyard Cote Rotie called Viria to contemplate. There are many admirable things about Marcel Guigal, but most significant is that he has been a qualitative locomotive that has brought attention to the Rhone Valley, and has raised the quality bar for the entire region. More importantly, he realizes that most consumers will have access only to his least expensive wines from the Cotes du Rhone, so he has made every effort to continue to increase the quality of both his white and red Cotes du Rhones. His Cotes du Rhone whites have jumped in quality as he has settled on a general blend of approximately 50% Viognier and the rest Roussanne, Marsanne, Clairette, Bourboulenc, and Grenache Blanc. Importer: Fred Ek and Patrick Will, Ex Cellars Wine Agencies, Solvang, CA; tel. (805) 686-9153

robert_parker95

Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.

The densest, most concentrated and impressive offering is the 2004 Cote Rotie La Landonne. Aromas of Peking duck, bouquet garni, graphite, asphalt, blackberries, and charcoal soar from the glass of this full-bodied, dense, remarkably concentrated 2004. In a vintage where record-setting yields were the norm in the northern Rhone, this wine possesses a level of concentration that is hard to believe. It should drink well for 15 or more years. While the entire world of wine knows how profound Guigal’s red wines are, they may not know that he continues to demonstrate a complete mastery of white wine varietals, from his lowly Cotes du Rhone blend of Roussanne, Marsanne, Viognier, Clairette, and Bourboulenc, to his seriously-endowed dry whites from the northern Rhone. Over recent years, Guigal has been attempting to produce an interesting, fairly-priced, delicious Crozes-Hermitage. (The overall level of quality from this complex appellation is less than exciting.) Guigal is becoming one of the most important producers of high quality St.-Joseph. He fashions three cuvees, a general appellation offering, his St.-Joseph Lieu-Dit St.-Joseph, and the limited production Vignes de l’Hospice, which comes from high elevation, steeply terraced vines planted at the top of the small mountain that dominates the town of Tournon. Along with Chapoutier’s St.-Joseph Les Granits, Guigal’s Vignes de l’Hospice is one of the most profound wines of the appellation. It comes from a 5.5 acre parcel at the top of the small mountain that dominates the town of Tournon. The soils are decomposed granite with essentially the same soil base as the great vineyard of Hermitage across the river known as Les Bessards. One can argue that by producing the Cote Rotie Chateau d’Ampuis, Guigal is pulling some high quality material away from his Brune et Blonde, and it seems to me that only in the greatest vintages is the Brune et Blonde as consistent as it was in the past. That said, the Chateau d’Ampuis is superb. This cuvee comes from some of the top vineyards planted on the steep hillsides of Cote Rotie, such as Le Clos, La Grande Plantee, La Pommiere, Pavillon Rouge, Le Moulin, and Guigal’s most recent purchase, La Viria, which I suspect will become another single vineyard Cote Rotie in a few years. There are around 2,000 cases of this cuvee, and it is aged 30 or more months in 100% new oak. Guigal’s single vineyard Cote Roties are other-worldly in nearly every vintage. I have given these offerings more perfect scores than any other wines in the world. They represent three completely different expressions of Cote Rotie, and are made in limited quantities. There are about 1,000 cases of La Landonne, and 500-600 cases each of La Mouline and La Turque. La Mouline, which includes the highest percentage of co-fermented Viognier (11%), is always the more delicate, voluptuous wine with the most complex aromatics. La Turque is a denser, more gamy, meaty effort with approximately 7% Viognier co-fermented. It comes across as a completely different style of wine. La Landonne, which is grown in pure schist on the steep hillsides of the northern-most sector of the appellation, is 100% Syrah. It is the densest, most concentrated, masculine, and tannic of these three cuvees. Regardless of the vintage’s style and personality, La Mouline will always be the most flattering to drink young, followed by La Turque, and lastly by La Landonne. All three of these offerings are aged for a remarkably long, 42 month period in 100% new oak barrels (but they are never oaky), and are bottled unfined and unfiltered. They typically have 30+ years of longevity in top vintages. In short, they are singular expressions of greatness from spectacular vineyards that are brought to fruition with non-interventionalistic, creative yet distinctive winemaking. A re-visit to the 2004s has proven that Guigal’s long barrel aging can produce wines that are often better out of bottle than they were early in cask, a common occurrence at Guigal. Importer: Fred Ek and Patrick Will, Ex Cellars Wine Agencies, Solvang, CA; tel. (805) 686-9153

vinous95

Reviewed by: Josh Raynolds

Inky purple. Intensely perfumed, sexy aromas of Asian spices, cherry-cola, violet, yellow rose and black tea. Fresh cherry and dark berry flavors envelop the palate, with zesty minerality providing added lift. Gains sweetness with air, picking up bitter chocolate and candied floral character. Finishes broad, sweet and seemingly endless, with the cola and spice notes repeating.

vinous97

Reviewed by: Josh Raynolds

Dark purple. Hugely aromatic, utterly seductive bouquet of kirsch, blackcurrant, olive, grilled meat and fresh flowers. Bitter cherry and violet pastille flavors pack a major punch, with slow-building tannins adding structure. Became slowly brighter with air, picking up spiced plum and cocoa flavors and finishing with supple tannins and an endless progression of dark berry qualities. This always needs the most oxygen of these wines, Guigal noted.

vinous97

Reviewed by: Josh Raynolds

Inky violet color. Aromas of pungent violet, rose and magnolia, with deep chocolate, dark plum and roasted coffee elements. The most brooding and seemingly concentrated of this trio right now. With time in the glass, this unfolds slowly to reveal an exotic flavor profile of bitter cherry, blood orange, apricot pit, rose pastille and Indian spices. Very backward today but obviously highly concentrated and only beginning to reveal itself. Finishes dense, weighty and long, with a sweetness verging on syrupy but also powerful supporting structure.