2015 L'Ame Soeur Seyssuel

Opaque ruby. Expansive aromas of fresh red/blue fruits, potpourri and incense pick up cracked pepper and olive elements with air. Offers juicy, deeply concentrated boysenberry and bitter cherry flavors that become more energetic as the wine opens up. Allspice and floral notes emerge on the back half and carry through an impressively long, seamless finish that features resonating spiciness and just a hint of supple tannins.

From the up and coming Seyssuel region located just north of Côte Rôtie, the 2015 Collines Rhodaniennes L'Ame Soeur is a brilliant wine, and the quality of this cuvée continues to climb. Full-bodied, concentrated, expansive, and even opulent, it has classic black raspberries and cherry fruits, lots of spice, marmalade, and mineral aromatics, solid mid-palate depth, and sweet tannin. Already impossible to resist, it remains to be seen how this wine evolves, but my money is on it drinking beautifully for at least a decade. I was able to taste the 2015s from the incredibly talented Stéphane Ogier twice, once during my visit at the estate, which was just after bottling, and then again from bottles shipped to my office in Colorado. These are ripe, polished, sexy wines from Stéphane that show the purity as well as the opulence of this great, great vintage. The 2016 vintage was compared to 2006 by Ogier, which was a solid, under the radar vintage from the northern Rhône. The barrel samples all showed terrific purity of fruit and balanced styles, and should check in near the top of the vintage. This estate is certainly at the top of its game and readers looking for some of the most profound Côte Rôties out there are advised to get on this estate’s bandwagon.

Mid crimson. Warm nose that is almost buttery! Then some mintiness. Mint toffees? Neat and very well made. Great balance with a salty raciness on the finish. Dry end. Far from his best wine but certainly accomplished. (JR)