E.Guigal La Landonne,Cote Rotie 1994 (RP98)

The great glories of this house are its Cote Roties, of which there are now five separate offerings. The single-vineyard 1994s were singing loudly when I saw them in July. All of them scored significantly higher than they did during the two previous years, which is not unusual as Guigal's upbringing (elevage) of the wines results in better examples in the bottle than in cask. All three wines flirt with a perfect score. At this tasting, they reminded me of Guigal's 1982s - opulent, sumptuously-textured, forward, rich, precocious, flattering wines that will drink well throughout their lives. The fabulous 1994 Cote Rotie La Landonne, which is more dominated by toasty new oak than La Mouline and La Turque, is extremely muscular and powerful, with high tannin as well as fabulous extract. The wine reveals a dense, black/purple color, and a tight nose with plenty of pain grille, olive, iron, and black fruit aromas.