Decanter (100)

To attempt to describe the aroma, star anise and sandalwood would be suitable descriptors - but this is so pure and harmonious that this really smells of nothing other than itself. Perfectly weighted, perfectly balanced, with the most incredibly elegant tannins. This wine gave me goosebumps to taste, it’s hauntingly beautiful, the soul of Côte-Rôtie in a glass. It has everything you could hope for in a Côte-Rôtie, it’s pure perfection. It's rare for young wines to deliver such emotion.

Showcasing the exquisite craftsmanship of winemaker Luigi Scavino, the Azienda Agricola LaLu Langhe Nebbiolo 2019 is a true testament to Piedmontese viticulture. Famed for producing world-class Italian wines, Scavino meticulously crafts this Nebbiolo from vines grown on the steep hills of Langhe region. The 2019 vintage boldly radiates the vineyard's unique terroir through its ruby tint and elegant tannins.

Grapes are harvested by hand, ensuring ripe, flawless berries. Fermentation and maturation occur in stainless steel vats to preserve Nebbiolo's natural aromas and flavours. Dancing on the palate are luscious notes of red cherries, plums, and floral hints, beautifully balanced by a mineral undertone. With its moderate alcohol content, it pairs brilliantly with robust, savoury dishes.

The Azienda Agricola LaLu Langhe Nebbiolo 2019 is an embodiment of Scavino's dedication and passion, offering an unforgettably opulent drinking experience that lingers in both memory and palate.

Indulge in the compelling experience of Bernard Burgaud Cote Rotie 2010, a handcrafted French wine known for its incredible depth and charisma. A product of the eminent Rhone Valley, this well-aged fine wine is the masterpiece of renowned winemaker, Bernard Burgaud, who ardently upholds the traditional winemaking processes.

Grown in iron-rich vineyards that lend the grapes their resilient character, Bernard Burgaud Cote Rotie 2010 benefits from the meticulous vinification, including a fermentation period sustained for almost three weeks. The wine is then matured in oak barrels for nearly 24 months, culminating in the creation of a profound and layered vintage.

With its seductive notes of black cherries, smoked earth, and a hint of spice, the Bernard Burgaud Cote Rotie 2010 is nothing less than a sensory delight. A testament to Burgaud's exceptional expertise, this wine is an opulent embodiment of the prestigious Cote Rotie terroir.

Step into the world of exquisite Italian viticulture with the Canonica Giovanni Langhe Nebbiolo 2018. Exclusive to Piedmont, Italy, this exemplary vintage was meticulously crafted by the venerated Canonica Giovanni, a winery renowned for its dedication to tradition whilst embracing innovative winemaking techniques. This bottle encapsulates the very essence of Piedmont's distinctive terroir.

The Langhe Nebbiolo is 100% Nebbiolo grapes, fermenting for 10 days in steel tanks and maturing in large Slovenian oak barrels for 15 months. Reflections of ripe cherry, currants, dried rose petals, and a subtle hint of tobacco define the heady bouquet of this harmonious wine. On the palate, its striking freshness is tempered with a well-rounded synergy of tannins, concluding with an elegantly long finish. Indeed, the Canonica Giovanni Langhe Nebbiolo 2018 exemplifies the finest Piedmont wines, offering an unforgettable sip of Italian heritage. Savour the authentic legacy of Piedmont, beautifully encapsulated in each bottle of Canonica Giovanni Langhe Nebbiolo 2018.

Wine Advocate (94)

Showing beautifully from barrel and now from bottle, the 2013 Côte Rôtie la Mordorée comes from schist soils, was completely destemmed and spent 18 months in 25% new French oak. Its deep purple color is accompanied by classic notes of raspberries, bay leaf, olive tapenade and violets. Possessing beautiful minerality, a full, layered mid-palate and building tannin, drink this beautiful wine anytime over the coming 15 or more years.

Jeb Dunnuck (97-99)

The 2018 Côte Rôtie La Mordorée comes from the La Côte Brune and the Côte Blonde lieux-dits and is brought up in demi-muids, roughly 35% being new. Black raspberries, currants, cured meats, new leather, and Asian spice notes all define the bouquet. Full-bodied, powerful, and opulent on the palate, it has lots of tannins, loads of fruit, and a great finish.

Vinous - Josh Raynolds (92-94)

Inky ruby. Sexy red berry and floral scents, with bright graphite and cracked pepper adding complexity. Juicy raspberry and bitter cherry flavors are enlivened by brisk acidity and firmed by suave tannins. Finishes with tangy strawberry flavor and compelling sweetness and length. This is extremely well-balanced and graceful.

Vinous (94)

Saturated ruby. Highly perfumed dark berry, violet, smoky mineral, black cardamom and olive scents show excellent clarity and a touch of smokiness. Sweet, palate-staining blackberry and floral pastille flavors deepen slowly and take on a deeper licorice note on the back half. Rich but lively as well, finishing with firm back-end cut, fine-grained tannins and suave, impressively persistent floral and exotic spice notes.

Vinous (94)

Inky ruby. Highly expressive, mineral-accented blackberry, cherry, potpourri and exotic spice aromas take on a licorice nuance as the wine opens up. Intense black and blue fruit, floral pastille, cola and spicecake flavors are firmed by a spine of juicy acidity. Puts on weight on an extremely persistent, sharply delineated finish that repeats the dark berry and floral notes and leaves a hint of succulent herbs and smoky minerals behind.

An exquisite blend of Barbera and Nebbiolo grapes, the Conterno Fantino Langhe Monpra 2007 hails from Italy's renowned Piedmont region. The vintners of Conterno Fantino, noted for their meticulous wine-making methods, have expertly balanced these varietals on the rolling Langhe hills, resulting in a striking wine that impresses with its deep ruby colour and lingering finish.

Indulge your senses with the Conterno Fantino Langhe Monpra 2007's evocative bouquet - an intoxicating mix of ripe red fruits, sultry spices, and rustic undernotes of sweet tobacco and leather. After an 18-month maturation process in French oak barrels, it seamlessly merges vivacity and elegance, encapsulating a multidimensional flavour profile that is characteristically Conterno Fantino.

Tease your palate with this full-bodied and tannic vintage, a testament to Conterno Fantino's dedication to crafting world-class Italian wines. Experience for yourself why connoisseurs deem the Conterno Fantino Langhe Monpra 2007 a paramount expression of the Langhe terroir.

Wine Advocate (97+)

Another killer Cote Rotie is the 2009 Cote Rotie la Landonne and it's a bigger, rich, more opulent version of the 2010. Raspberries, chocolate, exotic flowers, violets and ample minerality all give way to a full-bodied, seamless, layered 2009 that has massive mid-palate depth and a monster finish. Raised all in new oak, it should be drinkable at an earlier age than the '10, yet have a similar evolution.

Wine Advocate (93)

A forward, sexy-style Cote Rotie that shows more oomph than most in the vintage, Jamet's 2000 Cote Rotie offers the hallmark complexity of the estate with its perfumed raspberry, game, flowers, olives and peppery bouquet. This carries to a full-bodied, voluptuously textured, seamless wine that has excellent purity, low acidity and tons of charm. Probably closest in style to the 1990, drink this character-filled beauty over the coming 5-7 years.

James Suckling (95-96)

Plenty of violets, pepper and deep-set spices are all part of the equation here, and this is a very complex Côte Rôtie that has a wealth of darkly stony notes, coal smoke and dark chocolate. Just superb! The palate's succulent and swathed in plush, fine tannins that envelop black- and red-plum flavors. Plenty of volume, great elegance and a lot of detail. A vintage when experienced makers could still shine, and the sorting in the vineyard was clearly a large part of this. Classy wine with so much on offer. Best from 2020 for a decade or more. Tasted in tank shortly before bottling.

Vinous (96)

Deep, lurid purple. Assertive, highly perfumed aromas of fresh blackberry, cherry, Moroccan spices and violet pick up olive and licorice nuances with air. Juicy, energetic and appealingly sweet, offering palate-staining red/blue fruit preserve, spicecake and violet pastille flavors that become deeper as the wine opens up. The floral and mineral notes repeat with gusto on an impressively long, focused finish that features youthfully firm tannins and a touch of bitter chocolate.

Decanter (97)

Elegant, perfumed, floral nose. This is generous, fresh and beguilingly complex already. It's dark and brooding but brimming with fruits, spices, flowers, a touch of smoke and graphite with a remarkably mineral, salty finish. Serious, but beautiful.

Decanter (96)

Liqueur-fruited, incredibly dense and opulent. The alcohol is quite high and the fruit very dark, underscored by big, slightly blocky and tight tannins. Rich, warming and generous style; very much a solaire vintage.

Vinous (97)

Opaque ruby. Vibrant blackberry, cherry, incense, Moroccan spice, potpourri and smoky mineral qualities on the expansive, seductively perfumed nose. Offers vibrant black and blue fruit, spicecake, olive and floral pastille flavors that show bright detail and energetic mineral lift. The floral and spice notes recur strongly on the youthfully gripping finish, which features mounting tannins and lingering smokiness.

Vinous (97)

Opaque ruby. Vibrant blackberry, cherry, incense, Moroccan spice, potpourri and smoky mineral qualities on the expansive, seductively perfumed nose. Offers vibrant black and blue fruit, spicecake, olive and floral pastille flavors that show bright detail and energetic mineral lift. The floral and spice notes recur strongly on the youthfully gripping finish, which features mounting tannins and lingering smokiness.

Wine Advocate (98-100)

Lovers of Côte Rôtie shouldn't bother waiting for reviews of this bottling—just try to get as much as you can every year. The 2017 Cote Rotie Cote Brune should be bottled by the time you read this, but at the time of my visit, it was still in barrel. Aromatically, this has it all—violets, stems, cracked pepper, amazing fruit. It's full-bodied, dense and absolutely packed, yet it comes across as silky, lithe and engaging, with tremendous length and complexity on the finish. Always a thrill to taste out of barrel, it does firm up after bottling, so try to resist the urge to pop a cork before 2025 or so.

Wine Advocate (98-100)

Year after year, this is one of the top wines in the appellation. Jamet's 2018 Cote Rotie Cote Brune combines intense violet notes with mixed berries in a full-bodied wine that boasts incredible concentration yet never seems overly rich or heavy. Briny, fresh, silky and long, it's another tour de force from the talented Jamet family.

Wine Advocate (93-96)

The 2017 Cote Rotie was still in separate lots when I visited, yet I came away with remarkably similar impressions from the Gerine (fragrant charming and silky) and le Plomb (taut, intense and structural) as I did last year. A number of other lots will go into the final assemblage (Chavaroche, Fongeant, Lezardes and several more, probably including La Landonne). There's more cracked pepper and violets on the nose of the 2017 than the 2018 and also a touch more crispness and tension on the palate.

Indulge your palate with the exquisite Fontanabianca Langhe Nebbiolo 2019. Hailing from the heart of Piemonte, Italy, this fine wine is produced by the esteemed Fontanabianca winery, renowned for preserving authentic traditions in winemaking. Grown on south-east facing vineyards situated on mountainous terrains, the Nebbiolo grapes yield complex, powerful, yet delicately balanced wines.

Fontanabianca Langhe Nebbiolo 2019 undergoes alcoholic fermentation for 11 days in stainless steel tanks, followed by malolactic fermentation in barrels, accentuating its luscious character and depth. Displaying a vibrant ruby-red hue, it entices with rich aromas of dried fruits, spices, and subtle floral notes of rose. On the palate, the wine lavishes you with intense, harmonious flavours, paired with well-integrated tannins and a pleasingly persistent finish.

Trust Fontanabianca's commitment to producing wines of unparalleled quality to offer you the noble essence of the Langhe terroir condensed into a bottle of their splendid 2019 Nebbiolo.