A ripe, sexy nose of smoked game, truffly earth, chocolate, and jammy black and blue fruits emerge from the 2017 Côte Rôtie La Landonne. Made from 100% Syrah from the schist soils of the La Landonne lieu-dit, aged four years in oak, this massive, full-bodied 2017 shows the sexier, riper style of the vintage, yet it has incredible tannins, a deep, layered mid-palate, and nothing out of place. It will be interesting to see if it hits the heights of past great vintages, such as 2015, 2010, 2009, 2005, or 2003, but it’s certainly in the same ballpark.

More marked by pepper and licorice than the 2016, Guigal's 2017 Cote Rotie La Landonne is also richer, rounder and longer. It's full-bodied, velvety in texture and offers a kaleidoscope of dark fruit flavors that gradually morph over the course of an almost never-ending finish. This vintage, La Landonne has it all.

From the northern part of lieu-dit La Landonne, the plot was planted in 1975 to commemorate Philippe Guigal's birth. Guigal uses a tank that pumps over automatically using CO2 generated from fermentation. It's a dark, brooding, impenetrable wine for now on the nose - just a hint of bitter chocolate and black cherry can be coaxed out. It's full-bodied but not massive, with incredible tannic heft and power and serious extraction, finishing with remarkable length. There's a tiny touch of dryness and subtle bitterness, but years of barrel ageing remain ahead of it to help iron these out. It displays the trademark austerity of La Landonne, and is the most powerful young Guigal Landonne I've ever tasted. It's likely to be a complex, savoury, tannic style when it finally comes round - just don't drink it young. Drinking Window 2030 - 2055.

This is a brick house, with ample reserves of dark currant and blackberry reduction flavors lined with a strong cast iron note, while dark tobacco, olive and smoldering alder accents fill in through the finish. Built for the long haul.

Not destemmed. Always the deepest and most austere of the single vineyard 'La La' wines, the 2016 La Landonne exhibits some classic peppery spice and smoky bacon aromatics alongside dark plum and roast espresso - intense, vivid and expressive in aroma. It's full-bodied, concentrated and dense in style, and at this stage the oak is just about in balance. Lush, concentrated fruit is allied to a sinewy texture coming from the stems. It's quite grainy, in fact, but the tannins are sure to resolve during their extended oak ageing - the wine is only at the start of its long elevage, and will spend a total of 42 months in new oak barriques, reaching the market in early 2020