La Turque Côte-Rôtie Syrah

Meat, deep herby fruit, iron and intense purity. Great structure, intensity and complexity. A feral, savory and engaging wine. Fantastic stuff. Still young

Intense. BlackBerry and a touch of tar. Iron and minerality. Dried herbs. Savory and powerful and young. Great

Definitely the most expressive young vintage I’ve had of a La La. Very giving already. Was a perfect pairing for lamb.

Plush and open plummy fruit. A hint of mint and orange peel. Fresh tangerines at the edges. Very good.

How did this sneak in here? Considering our penchant for the Rhône, it’s almost inevitable that something like this was getting opened. Popped and poured, the 1997 “La Turque” pours a deep ruby/purple color with a slightly hazy, near opaque core; medium+ viscosity with significant staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of ripe slightly wizened black and ted fruits: black brambles, black cherry, strawberry, smoked and spiced meat, olives, purple flowers, black pepper, dried herbs, rocky earth, fine wood and warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. While this may not be my favorite expression of Côte Rôtie, it is undeniably delicious after nearly 30 years. It still has a long life ahead. Drink now through 2042.

Fragrant and red-fruit-driven nose shouting clarity of purpose led a crisp, somewhat linear palate of nicely delineated red and black fruit, black tea, asian spice. After a while in the glass secondary notes emerged of strawberry and even lilac. Great now but miles from peak with delightful acidity still driving the palate. Outstanding.

Great vintage for the La La’s. But it’s not ready. The nose is stunning, captivatingly aromatic after a few hours in the decanter, layered with Northern Rhône classicism of blackberry, camphor and bacon fat. The palate is massively concentrated but oaky and stiff. Needs more time to integrate but all the pieces are there!

The “last” lala. A very big wine, salty, smoked meat. Approachable but will benefit from another 5 to 7 years in bottle. Potentially great.

Still a baby. Revisit in 15.

Spectacular. Ethereal nose of strawberry and faint notes of cured meats. 1,000 layers after it came to temp, needed a short decant. This has turned towards Burg with a lightness and power. Silky smooth. Thanks, Aaron. 🙏🏼