I loved the 2015 Côte Rôtie Château D'Ampuis from barrel, and this beauty does not disappoint from bottle. Coming from a handful of top sites, it’s made in the same fashion as the top La Las, seeing four years in new barrels. Deep purple-hued with a classic bouquet of black raspberries, jammy blackberries, acacia flowers, vanilla bean, and spice, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a rounded, expansive mid-palate, sweet tannins, and a great, great finish. Savvy readers will stock up on this beauty. Give it 3-5 years and enjoy over the following two decades or more. This reference point estate was created in 1946 by Etienne Guigal and has been one of the world’s greatest wine estates for over seven decades now. Today, it’s Etienne’s son, Marcel Guigal, and his son Philippe, who continue to keep Domaine Guigal at the leading edge of the appellation. As I’ve written in the past, one of my highlights tasting each year is with this team, which now also includes Jacques Desvernois, who was previously at Paul Jaboulet Aîné. As normal, due to the long élevage of most cuvées, we taste through four vintages of each of the main releases. The top Côte Rôties see (and have always seen) a full four years in new French oak, and even their larger production Southern Rhônes see extended time in oak. While a lot is said about the extended élevage in new oak, I don’t know anyone who tastes mature examples of these wines regularly who has any doubts about the genius here. In short, these single vineyard Côte Rôties and Hermitages are some of the greatest wines money can buy. Quickly looking at the releases here, there are two main Saint Josephs, the Vignes des Hospice and the Lieu-dit Saint Joseph. The Saint Joseph Vignes des Hospices comes all from the incredibly steep (and picturesque) vineyard perched just above the town of Tournon. This is a cooler, mostly east-facing vineyard of pure granite soils (it shows similarities with the Les Bessards lieu-dit just across the river) and harvest here always lags other nearby sites by 5-7 days. I always find a Hermitage-like character in this wine and it ages beautifully. The Saint Joseph Lieu-Dit Saint Joseph comes from a warmer, south-facing vineyard that the appellation takes its name. This is one of the top terroirs in the region and this cuvée is always a more broad, opulent wine that doesn’t have the tannic backbone of the Vignes des Hospice yet offers more upfront appeal. As to the Côte Rôtie, there are five releases. The Brune et Blonde can be thought of as the entry-level cuvée and comes from a mix of vineyards, most of which are estate, yet there is some purchased fruit. It drinks well on release and has a solid 15-20 years of longevity in top vintages. A smaller production release, the Côte Rôtie Château d’Ampuis is named after the Château d’Ampuis estate (which lies in the town of Ampuis, right up along the Rhône River, and was purchased by the Guigals in 1995) and is a blend of their top seven estate vineyards, including the La Garde, Le Clos, Grande-Plantee, Pommiere, Pavillon, Le Moulin, and La Viria lieux-dits. It sees a full four years in new French oak and is handled exactly like the single vineyard releases. There are roughly 2,500 cases of this produced, and in top years, it’s quality can be just as high as the single vineyard releases, making it a terrific value. There are only three (now anyways) single vineyards that are affectionally labeled “La Las,” the La Mouline, La Turque, and La Landonne. First made in 1966, the La Mouline comes from a parcel in the Côte Blonde and is the warmest, earliest site of the single vineyards. It includes some of the oldest vines of the estate, sees upwards of 10% co-fermented Viognier, see only pump-overs during fermentation, and has always spent four years in new French oak. The La Mouline is always the most approachable of the single vineyard releases and is also the earliest maturing. Nevertheless, top vintages can easily keep for 30 years. The Côte Rotie La Turque was first made in 1985 and comes from a steep parcel in the Côte Brune. It sees slightly less Viognier than the La Mouline and is a co-fermented blend of 93% Syrah and 7% Viognier. It sees a more aggressive punch-down regime during fermentation and spends 48 months in new French oak. The La Turque always splits the difference between the La Mouline and La Landonne stylistically and shows slightly more minerality and structure than the La Mouline, yet not quite the austerity and structure found in the La Landonne. It normally needs 10-15 years of bottle age to show its true self. Lastly, the Côte Rotie La Landonne comes from a great lieu-dit in the Côte Brune side of the appellation. It is always 100% Syrah and is made using a cap immersion technique for fermentation. This cuvée was first made in 1978 and for each vintage has spent 48 months in new French oak. The La Landonne is always the most backward, structured, age-worthy of the lineup, and needs the most bottle age to hit maturity. It is also, however, the most consistent in terms of quality of the three single vineyards. As to the Hermitage releases, there are three cuvées, a base Hermitage and a Hermitage Ex-Voto in both red and white. Guigals purchased their primary holdings in Hermitage from Jean-Louis Grippat (now 90-year-old Marsanne vines in the Les Murets lieu-dit) and Domaine De Vallouit (mostly in the Greffieux lieu-dit) in 2001. They also gained parcels in the lieu-dit Saint Joseph and Vignes de Hospice with the Grippat purchase. Today, they have parcels in Le Méal, Beaumes, Dionnieres, and Les Bessards. The entry-level Hermitage sees three years in 50% new French oak. They release a tiny production cuvée called Ex-Voto only in top vintages, and the red sees the same four years in French oak as the single vineyard Côte Rôties. The Ex-Voto Blanc is primarily Marsanne blended with 10% Roussanne, from Les Murets (90%) and l’Hermite (10%) lieux-dits, aged 30 months in new French oak. It sees primary and malolactic fermentation in barrel and is bottled unfined and unfiltered. This is a rich, powerful Hermitage Blanc that has plenty of toastiness in its youth and starts to drink brilliantly with 4-5 years of bottle age. This was a massive tasting, as usual, and I’ve listed the wines in the order we went through them.

The 2015 Cote Rotie Chateau d'Ampuis finally approaches the lofty goals set for it by the Guigal family. It’s a bit toasty from the barrel but full-bodied, ripe and concentrated. Loaded with tannins and black raspberry fruit, it’s silky at the same time, leaving behind lingering traces of mocha and roasted meat on the long finish. Joe Czerwinski.

The 2015 Cote Rotie Chateau d'Ampuis is remarkably dense and concentrated, packed with dark fruit and rich tannins. It's full-bodied and supple on the mid-palate, adding hints of vanilla, espresso and dried spices on the long, velvety finish. Give it another 3-4 years in the cellar, then drink it over the next two decades.

Impressively deep aromas of graphite, tar, dark plums, blackberries, chocolate, pepper and all manner of baking spices. The palate has a super rich and attractive feel with smooth tannins, saturated in blackberry and chocolate flavors. This has such dramatic depth and youthful power still. Try from 2023.

There's a good sense of aromatic purity here with appealing red berry fruits, and the oak isn't overly obtrusive on the nose. Medium-bodied, pure and fresh on the palate, with vibrancy if not great depth. Good sense of finesse to the tannins with well balanced acidity. Impressive craftsmanship with a medium length finish, ending on a coffee bean and vanilla pod note. A blend of 7 plots across the Côte Blonde and Côte Brune. Fermented in stainless steel, 38 months in new French oak barriques.

Aged for 38 months in new oak. 93% Syrah, 7% Viognier. Beef, dark chocolate, pepper, clove and black olives. Softer tannins than their Brune et Blonde, and stronger fragrance on the finish. Impeccable balance, where the oak is woven into the fruit seamlessly. (RH)