Winemaker Notes
The wine's deep color is underscored by plummy hues. A complex nose shows deep, fruity aromas with hints of licorice and roasted coffee. Endowed with a dense and silky tannic structure, this is a full, fleshy wine that provides an ample and generous palate. Its lasting finish speaks of considerable ageing potential.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
There is a good sense of freshness to the aromatics here - juniper and a touch of black pepper, with a dense tannic base, very plush in texture, with exceptional finesse. It has a long finish and no excessive alcohol. A relatively fruity and approachable La Landonne this year. The winemaking at Domaine Rostaing is now in the hands of René's son Pierre, and it follows the same format for all the Côte-Rôties: four weeks in tank, 18 months in oak, limited new oak, natural yeasts, and as many stems as possible - 100% in this case. Picked around 6th Sept, early for the appellation.
Barrel Sample: 97 -
Jeb Dunnuck
A classic wine from this terroir, the 2018 Côte Rôtie La Landonne has a powerful, smoky, minerality style as well as rocking cassis and black raspberry fruit, full body, the plush, sexy, opulence of the vintage, and a great finish. It has a wealth of fruit yet stays balanced and pure. This is a gorgeous wine in the making.
Barrel Sample: 95-97 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
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.
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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.
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Wine Spectator
Vibrant and racy version with raspberry, blackberry and lack cherry fruit driving along with good energy while graphite, violet and smoldering bay hints fill in throughout. Very solid through the finish. Best from 2022 through 2035.
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Wine & Spirits
From an old-vine parcel in this famed lieu-dit of the Côte Brune, this is dense and monolithic in its youth. Work it in the glass and you’ll find glimmers of fresh plum, lilacs, pepper and stone, but the main impression is blackness, the wine’s details hidden behind formidable tannins and oak frame. Give this years in the cellar before serving with roast beef.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
The cultivation of vines here began with Greek settlers who arrived in 600 BC. Its proximity to Vienne was important then and also when that city became a Roman settlement but its situation, far from the negociants of Tain, led to its decline in more modern history. However the 1990s brought with it a revival fueled by one producer, Marcel Guigal, who believed in the zone’s potential. He, along with the critic, Robert Parker, are said to be responsible for the zone’s later 20th century renaissance.
Where the Rhone River turns, there is a build up of schist rock and a remarkable angle that produces slopes to maximize the rays of the sun. Cote Rotie remains one of the steepest in viticultural France. Its varied slopes have two designations. Some are dedicated as Côte Blonde and others as Côte Brune. Syrahs coming from Côte Blonde are lighter, more floral, and ready for earlier consumption—they can also include up to 20% of the highly scented Viognier. Those from Côte Brune are more sturdy, age-worthy and are typically nearly 100% Syrah. Either way, a Cote Rotie is going to have a particularly haunting and savory perfume, expressing a more feminine side of the northern Rhone.