2018 Côte-Rôtie, La Landonne, E. Guigal, Rhône Chilled and blind tasting after blind

and blind tasting after blind tasting has confirmed this for me

Tasted at a vertical at Château Meyney

while the trend in recent years has been to look for an increasingly elegant expression of Pinot Noir

A little liquorice kicks in to herald the graceful finish

cask and bottle

2018 Côte-Rôtie, La Landonne, E. Guigal, Rhône Chilled and blind tasting after blindThe 2018 Cte Rtie La Landonne is a different beast, as always. Inky black hued, with a monster of a nose revealing tons of smoked black fruits, cured meats, tobacco, ground pepper, and graphite. It has an almost Pauillac like profile and is full bodied, deep, and concentrated on the palate, with building tannins, flawless balance, and a huge finish. Pure raw power, this needs at least a decade of bottle age and will be one of the longest lived wines