2017 Côte-Rôtie Château d'Ampuis Guigal magnum

I loved the 2017 Côte Rôtie Château D'Ampuis. It’s a ripe, expressive barrel sample overflowing with notions of black raspberries, cassis, vanilla bean, and incense. Medium to full-bodied, rounded, and silky, it has lots of ripe tannins as well as stunning balance. It’s in the same ballpark as the 2016 yet shows the warmer, sunny nature of the vintage.

Well-steeped red and black cherry fruit melds nicely with a broad range of alder, sanguine, black tea, bay leaf and incense notes, which all swirl together through the very lengthy finish. A buried cast iron note gives this the spine it needs for the cellar. Best from 2023 through 2036.

The 2017 Cote Rotie Chateau d'Ampuis is a big, rich wine. It's full-bodied, rich and velvety, with vanilla accents atop mixed berries. A bit jammy and exuberant right now, it'll get another year or so in barrel, which should give it more focus and delineation.