Côte Rôtie Château d'Ampuis, Etienne Guigal 2010

The Chateau d'Ampuis is a blend of the seven different lieux-dits comprising this cuvée and is co-fermented with roughly 10% Viognier and raised four years in new barrels. It's made exactly like the famous Lalas here, and while it might have the same singular character of the three (now four) single vineyards, it's clearly in the same qualitative ballpark, and blind tasting after blind tasting has confirmed this for me. Looking at the 2010, it has shed most of its baby fat and is now showing a classic, elegant, yet still concentrated style and, as all of the top cuvées from Guigal tend to do, has absorbed every bit of its oak upbringing. Gorgeous red and black fruits, smoked meats, minty herbs, graphite, and spring flower notes all shine in the bouquet, and it's medium to full-bodied on the palate, with a layered, elegant mouthfeel, silky tannins, flawless balance, and a great finish. This complex, nuanced, incredibly seductive Côte Rôtie can be drunk any time over the coming 15-20 years. This is one of the all-time greats of this cuvée, and I wish I'd have bought more on release. (Drink between 2025-2045)