2010 Cote Rotie La Landonne

Inky ruby. Aromas and flavors of dark fruit preserves, candied flowers and smoky herbs, with a bright mineral nuance adding lift. Deeply pitched black and blue fruit flavors show serious depth and structure, picking up spiciness and an exotic floral quality on the back half. Chewy tannins give shape and grip to a strikingly long, powerful and spice-driven finish. Rostaing thinks that it would be a "grave mistake" to broach this wine in its youth and believes that it's "for the most patient people, not those in a hurry."

The prodigious 2010 Cote Rotie La Landonne reveals a dense purple color along with a huge, impressive perfume of roasted meats, black currants, black raspberries and scorched earth. This 100% Syrah comes from vines planted on exceptionally steep slopes composed of schist and iron-like sub-soils. Some graphite also makes an appearance in this mineral-dominated, well-delineated, rich, intense wine. P.S. Readers should not forget Rostaing’s brilliant 2009 Coteaux de Languedoc Puech Noble, which received a score of 90 last year. I retasted it this year and rated it identically. It is a sleeper selection from Rostaing, and if you can not find or afford his Cote Roties, this wine (70% Syrah and the rest equal parts Mourvedre and Grenache aged in a combination of tank and older wood) is a brilliant 30,000-bottle cuvee that represents great value. Rene Rostaing believes the finest vintages in Cote Rotie have been 1971, 1991 and 2010. I would add 2009 as Rostaing made spectacular wines in that vintage, although I understand that for his personal taste they are at the limit of extreme ripeness. A perfectionist, Rostaing has made exceptionally strong wines in both 2011 and 2010. Importer: Manny Berk, The Rare Wine Co., Sonoma, CA; tel. (707) 996-4484

Deep ruby. Black and blue fruits on the nose, complicated by suggestions of smoked meat, apricot pit and violet. Potent blueberry and boysenberry flavors are lifted by tangy acidity and show impressive back-end power. Youthful tannins add grip to the very long, smoky finish. Rostaing opined that this wine shows "discreet structure: the tannins and acidity are there but the sappy fruit will hide them for a couple of years. Then they tannins will become apparent and after that you'll have to age the wine for a few more years to allow the fruit to come back."