1987 Cote Rotie

No appellation in the Rhone Valley had greater success in 1987 than Cote Rotie. Most of the growers harvested late and picked fully ripe, only slightly diluted grapes. The top wines, such as the 1987 Cote Rotie Brune et Blonde, are wonderfully fragrant, satiny-textured wines that have great bouquets and smooth-as-silk flavors. Put Guigal's 1987 in a blind tasting against some of the 1988 grands crus of Burgundy, and I would be willing to bet it would be one of the top two or three wines, if not the very best. Always a very forward Cote Rotie, this fully mature, deep garnet-colored wine is surprisingly concentrated, with a bouquet crammed with black raspberries, smoked herbs, and licorice. Ripe, long, concentrated, medium- to full-bodied, this luscious and opulently textured, elegant wine is close to full maturity. A sleeper vintage, this is a hedonistic glassful of Cote Rotie that has aged remarkably well. Anticipated maturity: now-2002. Last tasted 7/96.