E. Guigal
Côte-Rôtie La Landonne 2014
Côte-Rôtie
One of the three “LaLa” wines that Guigal produces and are the most collectible wines of the Rhone Valley, La Landonne is a remarkable expression of terroir. And for good reason, La Landonne is situated on one of the steepest vineyards of the Côte Brune, a 45 degree slope that remarkably requires harvesters to start picking from the bottom of the vineyard and work their way up, placing grape bunches in bins that are set on sleds and dragged up the hill. Along with its position at the northern end of the Côte Brune and the fact it is the last vineyard to ripen, La Landonne is the mirror of the feminine and voluptuous La Mouline: it is a wine of driving power, defined by its dark fruit and structure. The first vintage Guigal produced was in 1978, after being planted in 1975 at the time of Philippe Guigal’s birth.
VINEYARD
The La Landonne vineyard sits on clay-limestone soil, very rich in iron oxides, lending additional polyphenols. The 5.7 acre site is planted entirely with Syrah. It took the Guigals more than a decade to acquire this vineyard, acquiring it from numerous small owners parcel by parcel.
WINEMAKING
La Landonne is the one Guigal Cote-Rotie wine that is never destemmed to any degree. The wine is continuously pumped over, with fermentation and maceration lasting 4 weeks.
The wine is aged 40 months in new oak barrels, all made by Guigal at Chateau d’Ampuis.
VINTAGE
2014 is a great example of how the steep hillsides of Côte-Rôtie, and within them the favored plots, can withstand weather variations to produce wines with ample fruit. There was trying variation of rain and dry weather, but in the end fruit flies were the major issue in the region, causing very low yields. With a calm end of August through most of September, ripening occurred and the wines have fruit, even a generosity, and an openness. Still, the quality of La Landonne fruit was excellent.
TASTING NOTE
A spellbinding wine, deep red in color. The aromatic intensity keeps us coming back to get deeper notes of blackberry, leather, licorice and exotic spice. There is massive structure to La Landonne 2014, ripe with concentrated flavors of tobacco, crushed rocks and spiced meat, while also offering a strong sense of terroir. This is everything we want to experience in a wine, and will continue to enjoy for the next 25+ years.
Color
Red
Grape Varieties
Syrah
Appellation
Côte-Rôtie
Farming
Guigal uses only environmentally sustainable methods of pest, disease and weed control. They work to conserve biological diversity, water resources, soils and ecosystems on their land. Packaging materials are recyclable or biodegradable. Lastly, they are committed to achieving a zero waste target.
Suggested Retail Price
$525
Reviews
Jeb Dunnuck - December 27, 2018 “Probably the wine of the vintage is the 2014 Côte Rôtie La Landonne, a beauty that gives up everything you could want from Côte Rôtie. Cassis, tobacco leaf, graphite, crushed rocks and peppery meat notes all emerge from this concentrated, full bodied 2014 that has a Bordeaux like, tannin structure. It certainly bucks the vintage stereotype and has real density and depth. Give bottles 3-5 years and enjoy over the following 20-25 years.”
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Trade Materials
Other Wines by this Producer
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