Côte Rôtie Château d'Ampuis, Etienne Guigal 1995

The 1995 Cote Rotie Chateau d'Ampuis is a sensational offering. The bottled wine is even better than its individual component parts. It boasts a dense, saturated deep ruby color, as well as a flamboyant, intense bouquet of crushed pepper, Provencal herbs, black raspberry jam, and smoky sweet oak. The wine is medium to full-bodied, with good underlying acidity, but much more voluptuous and unctuous than it appeared to be from cask. Long, concentrated, and explosively rich, this wine may merit an even higher score after it has had some time to mesh together in bottle. It is a terrific Cote Rotie to drink over the next 10-15+ years.