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.
This wine pairs wonderfully with fine meats, roasted beef, water games, truffles and spicy stews.
Blend: 100% Syrah
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2022 Côte Rôtie La Landonne is a much more singular wine and just screams La Landonne with its smoky, meaty profile. Darker black fruits, graphite, crushed stone, leather, and woodsmoke all emerge from the glass, and it's medium to full-bodied, has a pure, layered, elegant mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and a great finish. It's very much in the style of the vintage and will benefit from just a few years of bottle age and cruise for two decades. Drink 2026-2046.
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James Suckling
A very elegant expression of the Cote Brune section of this appellation, with stunning concentration, masses of super-silky tannins and fantastic tension. That drives the extremely long finish, which is as pointed and bright as a flashing fencing sword. Yes, this is a full-bodied wine, but you hardly think about the body. A pure syrah that was matured 100% in Burgundian oak casks for 15 months. Drink from release.
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Vinous
The 2022 Côte-Rôtie La Landonne bursts with black cherry, rose petal, crushed rock and black pepper notes, further laced with hints of licorice and graphite. Medium- to full-bodied, the 2022 balances power with flawless elegance. Ripe tannins frame its complex palate, leading to a long, expansive finish. This is a compelling La Landonne of pedigree and class.
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Wine Spectator
Dark, brooding and sultry, with textural intrigue behind flavors of smoked cherry, black currant and mocha enrobed in toasty oak. There's a flash of mesquite on the slightly chewy palate, solidly grounded by bolts of iron. Salty and complex, with incense and dried violet notes echoing on the substantial finish, which will unwind with a few years in the bottle. Best from 2026 through 2035.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Notes of licorice, cedar and smoke preface the 2022 Cote Rotie La Landonne, a slightly austere, introverted Côte-Rôtie that is medium to full-bodied, dense and concentrated, with a linear texture framed by a fresh, fleshy mid-palate and bright acids. It concludes with a firm, oaky, spicy finish. The underlying character of the soil is present but restrained, leaning toward a gently woody style that somewhat mutes its natural expression. Crafted by Jacques Grange and his team, this wine has the potential to age gracefully. It would benefit from additional time in the cellar to fully express itself.
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.