2011 Domaine Michel Ogier Côte-Rôtie Lancement
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Tasting notes
Deep ruby. Highly expressive aromas of candied red and dark berries, along with suggestions of potpourri and smoky minerals. Sweet and seamless on the palate, offering intense raspberry and boysenberry flavors that become fleshier with air. Pure and precise, finishing with excellent clarity and lift thanks to juicy acidity. Fine-grained tannins come in late and add shape to the long, spicy, floral finish. Ogier compared this wine to his 2007 and predicts that it will probably never really close down.
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Josh Raynolds
Josh Raynolds
More reviews and scores
Deep ruby with a bright rim. Room-filling red fruit and floral aromas are complicated by Asian spices and smoky minerals. Suave, palate-staining raspberry, cherry-cola and violet pastille flavors show pinot-like balance and focus, with a peppery quality making it clear that this is syrah. Suave, sweet and energetic on the gently tannic finish, leaving allspice, cinnamon and sweet red fruit notes behind.
Even better and shockingly good in the vintage, the 2011 Cote Rotie Lancement is 100% Syrah that comes from the more southern end of the appellation (more Cote Blonde than Cote Brune). Giving the top Belle Helene cuvee a run for its money, this thrilling 2011 dishes out spectacular notes sweet berry fruit, bacon, pepper and gamy nuances that flow to a full-bodied, seamless and incredibly textured, lengthy feel on the palate. Possessing no hard edges and perfect integration of its acidity, tannin and fruit, this is riveting stuff that should not be missed! (Not yet released) One of the next generation of winemakers to come up through the ranks by working with his father, the young, yet talented, Stephane Ogier (who is one of the youngest vignerons in the appellation) has been fully in control at this brilliant estate since around 2003. Covering roughly 7 acres in Cote Rotie, there are new plantings just now coming on line, both in Cote Rotie and in the surrounding regions as well. In addition, they are in the process of building a completely new cellar located on the western edge of Ampuis. There’s lots going on here, and if you’re a young wine lover today, count yourself lucky that there are young vignerons of this caliber out there. Looking at the 2011s, these show slightly more linear profiles than the 2012s, yet both vintages possess fantastic purity of fruit and overall elegant profiles. Robert Kacher Selections, New York, NY; tel. (212) 239-1275
Deep ruby. Heady aromas of ripe red berries, potpourri and incense, with a vanilla nuance in the background. Smoky and broad but lively, offering intense raspberry and cherry-cola flavors and bracing minerality. Shows impressive density, finishing on a spicy note, with superb clarity and just a hint of tannins. I admire the wine's litheness and focus.