Tasted from a new oak barrel, the 2018 Cote Rotie Champin le Seigneur shows plenty of generous cherry fruit. It's medium to full-bodied, ripe and lush. Just lovely stuff.

The 2017 Cote Rotie Champin le Seigneur (tasted from a couple of different barrels, one new) will have about 30% new oak in the final blend. Expect some charred notes and hints of vanilla, but the blackberry fruit seems more powerful this vintage, giving the wine a creamy, supple feel on the medium to full-bodied palate.

Marked by sappy, resiny notes of oak (this cuvée spends 20-22 months in barrel, half of them new), the 2016 Cote Rotie Champin le Seigneur also boasts hints of baking spices and cedar. There's a bit of raspberry and olive fruit, but this open-knit offering is undeniably on the woody side.

A beautiful base cuvée that just begs to be drunk, the 2014 C?te R?tie Champin Le Seigneur (90% Syrah and 10% Viognier aged in 50% new barrels) is loaded with classic C?te R?tie notes of smoked meats, licorice, mulled red and black fruits, and hints of bacon fat. Medium-bodied, rounded and ready to go, drink it anytime over the coming decade.

The most forward, seductive and perfumed of the C?te R?ties, the inky-colored 2013 C?te R?tie Champin Le Seigneur offers lots of warm spice, crushed flowers, spicy oak and black raspberry fruit. It has a modern feel, medium-bodied richness and a textured, fruit-loaded personality that’s ideal for drinking over the coming 7-8 years.