Domaine René Rostaing La Landonne, Côte-Rôtie, 2010

The 2010 vintage stands among the greatest the Northern Rhône has ever produced, and it is difficult to think of a more eloquent expression of that truth than the La Landonne from René Rostaing. The Côte Brune is not a site for the faint of heart: its steep, poor arzel soils, laden with silex and mica, extract everything from the vine and leave no room for softness. Rostaing himself, looking back on a career of extraordinary vintages, places 2010 among only two or three others as truly exceptional. The wine opens with a dense, complex perfume of scorched earth, roasted meats, black currant, and black raspberry, the fruit almost primal in its intensity. Time in the glass reveals layers of pepper, licorice, truffle, and iron. The palate is full, structured, and long, the tannins firm yet finely drawn, the fruit driving through the finish with startling clarity. This is Syrah at its most territorial, speaking in the deepest dialect of the Côte Brune.