2013 Cote Rotie La Landonne

(raised in 40% new oak for 18 months): Inky ruby. Fresh blueberry, cassis, candied flowers and smoky bacon on the intensely perfumed nose, along with a mineral topnote and a hint of allspice. Broad, sappy and concentrated, offering sweet, palate-staining dark fruit and spicecake flavors complemented by hints of anise and bitter chocolate. Finishes sweet, broad and very long, conveying a suggestion of violet pastille; soft tannins come in slowly.

The 2013 Côte Rôtie la Landonne is a longer term prospect that will require patience. It offers youthful, yet beautifully pure notes of black cherries, roasted herbs, licorice and distinct minerality to go with a medium to full-bodied, structured, tannic yet balanced feel on the palate. Completely destemmed and aged in 40% new French oak, I followed this bottle for multiple days and it continued to gain more and more mid-palate depth, without losing purity or freshness. Give bottles 5-6 years of cellaring and enjoy through 2038.

Dark purple. Heady, mineral-accented aromas of blueberry, cherry-cola, violet and incense, with a smoky note expanding in the glass. Palate-staining black and blue fruit flavors pick up notes of spicecake and candied flowers as the wine opens in the glass. Powerful but lithe and precise, finishing with superb clarity and sneaky tannins that come in late. Claire Darnaud told me that more and more Chassin barrels are being used for this wine because "the oak tannins are almost invisible, which works perfectly with the big structure that Landonne always delivers."