2012 Rene Rostaing Cote Rotie La Landonne

The 2012 La Landonne from Rene Rostaing was showing great promise, even though this was a barrel sample that had been sent over to New York several weeks before the tasting. 2012 is not a highly acclaimed vintage in Cote-Rotie, but following the axiom that the most terroir- specific vintages are going to be the less lauded years, this wine is already singing with soil tones. It was a short crop, as Monsieur Rostaing production was off by a third of a `normal vintage.` The 2012 La Landonne offers up a pure and youthfully complex nose of black raspberries, cassis, superb soil tones, a bit of venison and coffee. On the palate the wine is deep, fairly full-bodied and showing lovely potential for both complexity and transparency, with a fine core of fruit, ripe tannins and a long, cool and classic finish. All this beauty needs is some bottle age! Drink between 2020-2050. 93 points