Guigal - Cote Rotie La Landonne 2018

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The 2018 Côte Rôtie La Landonne is pure magic in the making and lends credence to the suggestion that Côte Rôtie is the shining star in 2018. The typical 100% Syrah aged in new French oak, it has a pure, vivid bouquet of blue fruits, wood smoke, charred meats, and graphite. While it’s unmistakably La Landonne with its meaty, masculine style, it has stunning purity of fruit. This massive, full-bodied, monster of a barrel sample is going to require patience."-Jeb Dunnuck

Guigal Description

The Guigal domain was founded in 1946 by Etienne Guigal in the ancient village of Ampuis, home of the wines of the Côte-Rôtie. In these vineyards that are over 2400 years old, you can still see the small terraced walls characteristic of the Roman period. Etienne Guigal arrived in this region in 1923 at the age of 14. He made wine for over 67 vintages and, at the beginning of his career, participated in the development of the Vidal-Fleury establishment.

Despite his young age, Marcel Guigal took over from his father in 1961 when the latter was victim to a brutal illness rendering him blind. Marcel's hard work and perseverance enabled the Guigals to buy out Vidal-Fleury in 1984, although the establishment retains its own identity and commercial autonomy. In 2000, the Guigals purchased the Jean-Louis Grippat estate in Saint-Joseph and Hermitage, as well as the Domaine de Vallouit in Côte-Rôtie, Hermitage, Saint-Joseph and Crozes-Hermitage.

In the cellars of the Guigal estate in Ampuis, the northern appellations of the Rhône Valley are produced and aged. These are the appellations of Côte-Rôtie, Condrieu, Hermitage, Saint-Joseph and Crozes-Hermitage. The great appellations of the Southern Rhône, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, Tavel and Côtes-du-Rhône, are also aged in the Ampuis cellars.

Jeb Dunnuck: 98-100 Points

"Lastly, the 2018 Côte Rôtie La Landonne is pure magic in the making and lends credence to the suggestion that Côte Rôtie is the shining star in 2018. The typical 100% Syrah aged in new French oak, it has a pure, vivid bouquet of blue fruits, wood smoke, charred meats, and graphite. While it’s unmistakably La Landonne with its meaty, masculine style, it has stunning purity of fruit. This massive, full-bodied, monster of a barrel sample is going to require patience."-Jeb Dunnuck

Wine Advocate: 98-100 Points

"Subtle hints of fresh pea shoots accent characteristic dark notes of roasted meat, espresso and black olives in the full-bodied 2018 Cote Rotie La Landonne. Rich, concentrated and velvety-textured, with ample length and plenty of ripe tannins on the finish, it should benefit from a decade or more of bottle age—once it gets there. It's a brooding beast of a Cote Rotie that serious collectors will want to have in their cellars."

Decanter

This is very full-bodied, dense, firm and muscular. There is an extremely deep weave of tannins that are massy and ripe alongside acidity that’s just on the low side. This La Landonne is never destemmed, and in 2018 the stems had lignified, which has resulted in slightly less pepper and herbal notes, but still displays black olive and bay leaf. A thunderous wine with exceptional length. From the northern part of this lieu-dit, planted in 1975 to commemorate the birth of Philippe Guigal. At the beginning of its 42 months in new French oak barriques.