2023 Domaine René Rostaing Côte-Rôtie La Landonne

Rocking levels of ripe black fruits, scorched earth, graphite, and smoky, peppery, meaty nuances all emerge from the 2023 Côte Rôtie La Landonne, and it's medium to full-bodied on the palate, with ripe, building tannins, a focused, concentrated, still elegant mouthfeel, and outstanding length. It's an ultra-classic La Landonne that will benefit from 4-6 years of bottle age and drink well over the following 20+ years. Drink 2030-2050.

The 2023 Côte-Rôtie La Landonne initially unfolds with alluring black fruits, stemmy aromatic cues, pencil shavings and delicately woven orange rind adding a floral lift. Crushed violets add more nuance. Built around a fresh core of bright acidity and remarkably smooth tannins, the 2023 is a well-structured and expressive La Landonne that's going to be hard to resist in its youth due to its immediate charm. Enjoy it while waiting for the 2022 to come around.

Vinified with 100% whole clusters, the 2023 Côte-Rôtie La Landonne is dark and alluring, opening with black cherry compote, black plum, crushed violet and graphite alongside stemmy traits. Touching the medium- to full-bodied palate with intense flavor concentration neatly balanced by lifting freshness, the complex 2023 gracefully makes its exit with an elongated, refined finale. Rostaing fans better watch out for this one—it might even outperform the terrific 2022 I tasted alongside.