2010 Domaine Stéphane Ogier Côte-Rôtie La Belle Helene

Inky purple. Cherry-cola, licorice and incense on the explosively perfumed nose. Stains the palate with sweet dark fruit liqueur flavors that are enlivened by intense spice and floral notes. Sappy and strikingly concentrated, with superb finishing power and energy. There are tannins here but they're buried beneath this wine's abundant, dense fruit.

The 2010 Cote Rotie La Belle Helene is perfection. In this vintage, Ogier cut back the barrel aging time from 32 months in largely new oak casks to 18 months. Ogier’s remarkable flexibility depending on vintage conditions and the quality of the fruit is admirable. He thinks this may be the greatest bottle of wine he has ever made, and it’s hard to disagree. An inky/purple color is followed by notes of pen ink, graphite, forest floor, licorice and abundant black and blue fruits. There is little evidence of new oak because of the extravagant richness and wealth of ripe fruit. The tannins, acidity, alcohol and wood are perfectly integrated into this exceptional wine. It will benefit from 5-6 years of cellaring and keep for 25-30+ years. (Not yet released) Stephane Ogier, tall and blond with rugged, Brad Pitt-like good looks, is the next generation of young, ambitious, well-traveled children from family-owned estates. Learning his trade and working next to his father, who is now fully retired, Stephane Ogier has moved confidently and dramatically to expand this estate from the Cote Rotie holdings to their vineyards that go into La Rosine and those from Seyssuel that go into l’Ame Soeur. He has also added a St-Joseph cuvee from a small parcel of vines in Malleval, next to his Condrieu holdings. Moreover, readers should not forget the recent white wine offerings from Ogier. The great success for the 2011s is attributable, as Ogier says, to harvesting seven days later than just about everyone else in Cote Rotie, in addition to aggressive green harvesting and farming practices in the vineyards. This is evident across the board as these are some of the finest 2011s I tasted in the Northern Rhone. Ogier has 12 separate Cote Rotie parcels spread along the hillsides of the Cote Blonde and Cote Brune. The 2011s were harvested between September 16 and October 8, and because of Ogier’s conservative farming practices as well as the courage it took to wait to harvest until after the rains, the quality of the fruit is outstanding. The 2010s are all remarkable wines at Ogier. Stephane Ogier also deserves accolades for what he has been able to achieve with his white wine program since he began it in 2007. There are now three cuvees, all outstanding. Importer: Robert Kacher Selections, New York, NY; tel. (212) 239-1275