TN: Tardieu-Laurent 1999 Cote Rotie

[Ray Barnes]

In the unaminous opinion of two gentlemen who assisted me in the delivery of a fridge and some other heavy stuff, this was a very strong effort. The vintage was very fine for the appellation, and after 17 years the wine seemed very much good to go - but could have held another 5 or more years no problem. Deep color, pretty Cornas like, and very open aromas of raspberry, blackberry, earth/iron, and a bit of wood, but not overdone. Really nice mouth feel, well integrated tannins, a fine peppery note, and a long, rich finish. Only 13% alcohol. The wine felt very opulent but somehow not heavy or over-extracted. Was consumed with pizza, due to being too late at night to plan something more appropriate for such a fine bottle - my colleagues felt that a pepper steak would have been ideal. This was sourced from three lieu dits, of which one I am sure was La Landonne, and the others I believe Les Grandes Places and La Vailliere. I am not sure how much of each was used in the whole. There was no viognier, 100% syrah. This was not the Vieilles Vignes cuvee, but the so-called regular bottling. After about an hour, the wine started taking on a very claret-like character, especially with the dry, elegant finish, yet with that lovely peppery touch. At $85 this was absolutely worth the money, although it would not be easy to find another bottle at that price as it has received rave reviews in the wine press. Justifiably so.

At the moment I feel this was a classic effort and maybe even a touch better than the 2004 Les Forts de Latour. It would be fascinating to do a comparative tasting of them someday. As fine as this wine was, I would still put it a notch below the remarkable Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape Vieille Vigne Roussanne.