In tank and awaiting bottling when I tasted it, the 2017 Cote Rotie la Landonne has smoothed out and added complexity in the past year. It now shows classic savory, meaty, la Landonne character and plenty of mocha goodness. It's medium to full-bodied, lush and velvety on the mid-palate, then finishes long and tannic.

I loved the 2017 Côte Rôtie La Landonne, a magical expression of the Grand Cru terroir. Deep purple-hued with killer notes of black raspberries, bacon fat, ground herbs, and obvious minerality, this beauty is full-bodied, has ultra-fine tannins, a deep, concentrated mid-palate, and a finish that won’t quit. Do your best to hold bottles for 4-5 years. This was another power-packed lineup from the Rostaing Family, and you can’t go wrong with any of these new releases. The 2017s show the sunny yet also elegant style of the vintage and have beautifully polished, ripe tannins. These wines offer pleasure even today but do your best to give bottles 4-5 years of bottle age, especially the single vineyard releases. Looking at the 2018s, these are largely in the same style yet have slightly more concentrated, structured profiles. My money is on the 2018s requiring slightly more bottle age, but I’ll report on those from bottle this time next year. In addition to the Côte Rôties, don’t miss a chance to try the Languedoc and Collines Rhodaniennes releases. Both represent terrific wines as well as value.

The winemaking at Domaine Rostaing is now in the hands of René's son Pierre, and it follows the same format for all the Côte-Rôties: four weeks in tank, 18 months in mostly old oak, natural yeast fermentation, and as many stems as possible - 100% in this case. This wine shows supreme freshness and vitality, and is very direct and straight, with notes of violets, black pepper and blackcurrant leading onto a long finish. It's a powerful wine but shows great energy and presence. The acidity is pretty biting, and the tannins are tough, dense, saline and directional. This 2017 is lous, powerful, almost fierce.

Inky ruby. Spice-accented blackberry, cherry preserve, pipe tobacco and licorice on the deeply perfumed nose; a sexy floral topnote gains strength as the wine opens up. Sweet, spicy and penetrating, displaying velvety texture to the ripe dark berry, cherry and fruitcake flavors. Shows superb clarity and finishes smoky and impressively long, with mounting tannins and a lingering suggestion of candied violet.

Tight tannins, black cherry, lots of compaction and tightness on the palate. Balanced but aromatically unevolved. (RH)