La Turque Côte-Rôtie Syrah

Fragrant and red-fruit-driven nose shouting clarity of purpose led a crisp, somewhat linear palate of nicely delineated red and black fruit, black tea, asian spice. After a while in the glass secondary notes emerged of strawberry and even lilac. Great now but miles from peak with delightful acidity still driving the palate. Outstanding.

Great vintage for the La La’s. But it’s not ready. The nose is stunning, captivatingly aromatic after a few hours in the decanter, layered with Northern Rhône classicism of blackberry, camphor and bacon fat. The palate is massively concentrated but oaky and stiff. Needs more time to integrate but all the pieces are there!

My favourite this evening, thanks to impeccable balance and its floral lift on the nose. Caressing tannins, still young of course, but starting to showcase its true complexity.

And then we get to the La La’s. We had all 3 from Guigal, all the same 2011 vintage. La Turque tends to be my preference. It’s usually still brooding on the palette but with a more fragrant, floral aspect on the nose. Very much the case here even with this baby of a wine.

Bacon fat and pepper in an elegant lean style. Fruit is balanced well by earth and structure. 7% viognier co-planted and co-fermented. A terrific "La"!

Still incredibly young but extremely soft given the age.

This baby is spicy with tart black fruits and firm gripping tannins.

Too young

Cherry menthol nose, Dark berry and strong spice with pepper. Long, seductive linger. Definitely time to drink, hitting peak with relaxed tannins.

Very steep hill.