E. Guigal Cote Rotie 'La Landonne' 2018

The Guigal domain was founded in 1946 by Etienne Guigal in the ancient village of Ampuis, home of the wines of the Cote-Rotie. In these vineyards that are over 2400 years old, you can still see the small terraced walls characteristic of the Roman period. 

Despite his young age, Marcel Guigal took over from his father in 1961 when the latter was victim to a brutal illness rendering him blind. Marcel's hard work and perseverance enabled the Guigals to buy out Vidal-Fleury in 1984, although the establishment retains its own identity and commercial autonomy. In 2000, the Guigals purchased the Jean-Louis Grippat estate in Saint-Joseph and Hermitage, as well as the Domaine de Vallouit in Côte-Rôtie, Hermitage, Saint-Joseph and Crozes-Hermitage.

98+ Points - Jeb Dunnuck

The 2018 Cote Rotie La Landonne is another wine that's going to be up at the top of the scale, and all three of these 2018s will be candidates for perfection. Always the biggest, richest wine of the three flagships, it's inky-hued and has a primordial nose of blackberries, cassis, and currants fruits as well as huge ground pepper, cured meats, espresso, and underbrush. As Landonne as Landonne gets, it's full-bodied, has a dense, powerful mid-palate, masses of tannins, and is going to be just about immortal.

98+ Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Subtle hints of fresh pea shoot accent characteristic dark notes of roasted meat, espresso and black olives in the full-bodied 2018 Cote Rotie La Landonne. Rich, concentrated and velvety-textured, with ample length and plenty of ripe tannins on the finish, it should benefit from a decade or more of bottle age once it gets there. It's a brooding beast of a Cote Rotie that serious collectors will want to have in their cellars.

95 Points - Decanter

This is very full-bodied, dense, firm and muscular. There is an extremely deep weave of tannins that are ripe alongside acidity that's just on the low side. This La Landonne is never destemmed, and in 2018 the stems had lignified, which has resulted in slightly less pepper and herbal notes but still displays black olive and bay leaf. A thunderous wine with exceptional length. From the northern part of this lieu-dit, planted in 1975 to commemorate the birth of Philippe Guigal. At the beginning of its 42 months in new French oak barriques.