E. Guigal, Cote Rotie, La Landonne

Decanted for 1.5 hours, continued to evolve through a long dinner with roast lamb. Full-bodied 100% Shiraz. Elegant and refined. Still lots of life

Owc pack of 3

Wow -- Intense, some charcoal and graphite, dark fruit, more drinkable now than expected with minimal hard edges.

Salon Focofi Paris walkabout and dinner, so no detailed tasting notes. the Guigal Lala trio showed well in the 2016 vintage. The wines were balanced and composed, nothing over the top or too ripe/oaky. As always, La Landonne (97pt) the densest with lots of smoke, La Turque (96pt) in the middle showing quite closed and La Mouline (97pt) a touch lighter with elegant floral nose. Any of these I would not drink before 2035.

Impressive concentration from the very start - meat, smoke, charcoal, coffee and blackberry with cassis syrup. Sweet and salty mid-palate, surprisingly fine tannings (they're huge, but very elegant). Super long finish - more on the gamey meat and coffee at the moment with spices, raspberries and hint of roses.

E Guigal zoom tasting (home) : 2.3ha, no destemming, pure Syrah, whole clusters, 11.200btl 45o degrees, the harvest was 10 days later than the other 2, planted in 1975, 1st vintage in 1978, 40 months in new oak -//- A brutal Pauillac-like heart with almost graphite notes, shows darker color than all the previous wine combined, prunes, dark cherries, toasted oak, charred notes, blackcurrant, asphalt warmth In the palate, the wine shows the same pattern of flavours, black notes of …

Guigal's wines from the Côte-Rôtie with Philippe Guigal (Zoom) : Wine 6 of 6. 100% Syrah. Aged in new oak casks for 40 months. 13.5% ABV. Very dark ruby colour. Restrained nose, more restrained than the La Turque, and in particular more restrained than the La Mouline. Dark fruit, coffee, dark chocolate, truffle, light gamy notes, and spices, with good acidity, ultra-fine, high-quality tannin, and incredible length. A little restrained, and very sophisticated. Great concentration, and great balance despite of …

2020 Guigal single vineyard cote rotie release dinner (Bel & Brio, Barangaroo) : Woof. This is quite ashy - I'm guessing plenty of whole bunch - savoury, spcied, peper, bacon fat...fruit plays third fiddle on the nose at best. Medium plus intensity acidity, ashy brambles, peppery fruit, plentiful chalky tannins, travels very long. Though I'm sure these three (La la's) all have pretty much the same oak regime this one hides it best. I find this rather lovely.

Seductive and extremely charming aromas with fantastic perfume ala Marilyn Monroe which lies over the beautiful berries with hints of blackberries, blackcurrants and forrest berries. But here the heavier forces will also be at the party. More animal touch with blood, sweat, tar and spices give an ultimate complex aroma picture, even if the balance is not quite there yet. Beautiful touch of this fabulous fresh wine with great fruit of purple berries, bush, wet minerals and wonderful coarse pepper. …

Just 3cl., twice. On the nose an elegant and precise Syrah with cream of cassis, black pepper, dairy notes from the wood or ripe black berries. Beautiful complexity. Balanced, densely acidic, abundant but needs to be rounded to avoid among other things that explosive finish at the throat at this moment. Even with all those things, it has an unquestionable class and am extreme elegance. Knocking on the doors of greatness. It has a long life ahead. Let's give it …