2009 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque

Possibly my favorite vintage ever for the Northern Rhône (2010 and 2015 are both in the running), the 2009 Côte Rôtie La Turque is a mammoth of wine that offers everything you could want. Deep purple/plum-hued, this full-bodied, thick, opulent Côte Rôtie offers loads of sweet tannins, a deep, layered mid-palate, and straight-up heavenly notes of smoked meats, Asian spices, bacon fat, espresso roast, and loads of sweet, perfectly ripe black fruits. It’s much more opulent and sexy than the more classically built 2010 (and 2005 and 2015) and if this doesn’t put a smile on your face, I don’t know what will. It’s going to shine for another 2-3 decades.

Both the 2010 and the 2009 continue to blow me away every time I taste them, and to me, these represent the pinnacle of Cote Rotie—albeit in very different styles. Every bit as good as the 2010, the 2009 Cote Rotie la Turque is a flamboyant and sexy Cote Rotie that’s loaded with notions of smoked meats, blackberries, blackcurrants, beef blood and espresso roast. Thick, unctuous, hugely concentrated and long, it’s a heavenly wine I guarantee will put a smile on your face anytime over the coming 2-3 decades.

Dark purple. Sexy, expansive aromas of boysenberry, violet and incense, with a bright mineral quality adding lift. Offers an array of ripe, luscious black and blue fruit and floral flavors that become spicier with air. Sappy, broad and sweet on the gently tannic finish, which shows superb clarity and persistence.