As long-time readers know, I have given a disproportionate number of perfect scores to Guigal's Cote Roties. And guess what? Guigal's current releases, the 1988s, all merit perfect scores. I thought they were potentially perfect from cask, and now that they are in the bottle I have to believe that they are Guigal's most successful wines since his 1978s. They are even richer than the extraordinary 1985s, and more concentrated than the magnificent 1983s. Made from 100% Syrah from the Cote Brune, La Landonne's color is nearly black. A true blockbuster, it is a massive, almost impenetrable wine, which, with cellaring, is marked by aromas of smoked game, spicy nuts, saddle leather, and a roasted black fruit character. It is a wine with extraordinary power and forcefulness, as well as more acidity and tannin than Guigal's La Mouline. La Landonne requires 10-15 years of patience. Most observers who have had a chance to see all the vintages of La Landonne since its debut in 1978, agree that it is a wine with 30-40 years of longevity. The beginning of the new century would make an appropriate date for pulling the cork on your first bottle. The wine spends 42 months in new small oak casks and is bottled without fining or filtration. Guigal's Cote Roties, particularly the single vineyard wines, are exceptional wines. They offer extraordinary flavor intensity, impeccable purity, and awesome length and complexity. The yields from the three vineyards - La Mouline, La Landonne, and La Turque - rarely exceed two tons per acre. Moreover, no one harvests any later. That the wines spend nearly three and one-half years in 100% new oak tells you something about the level of extraction Guigal is able to achieve. While the oak is noticeable for 1-2 years after bottling, anyone who has tasted the 1985s, 1983s, 1982s, 1980s, or 1978s would be hard-pressed to find evidence of new oak. The level of fruit extraction in these wines literally soaks up the oak, making them all the more structured and complex. While all three wines share phenomenal concentration and marvelous perfumes, they could not be more different. Importer: Classic Wines, Boston, MA.

Very oaky, but then, it's still very young, boasting sweet plum and licorice flavors that go on and on. Has the classic La Landonne tannic structure, and should be better in 1998.--Guigal Cote-Rotie vertical. 700 cases made. -TM