M. Chapoutier : La Mordorée 1999

Chapoutier's La Mordoree cuvee is produced from 75-80-year-old Syrah vines planted in both the Cote Blonde and Cote Brune, aged in 100% new oak casks, and bottled without fining or filtration. The 1999 Cote Rotie La Mordoree is the finest he has produced since 1991 (two bottles drunk over the last six months confirm this fabulous wine’s potential as it is just now beginning to emerge from a cloak of tannin). The 1999 has shut down since its pre-bottling tasting. The color is an inky purple, and the wine is dense and powerful, with notes of smoky blackberries, creosote, and espresso. Concentrated flavors reveal high levels of tannin (surprising in view of last year’s report), and a rich, long, 45-second finish. This impressive 1999 will take longer to reach its plateau of drinkability than I thought last year. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2023. Importer: Paterno Imports, Lake Bluff, IL; tel. (847) 604-89000

Amazingly silky. Full-bodied and rich, this ultrathick red coats the palate. Loaded with sweet tannins and oak, but there is plenty of black fruit and fresh acidity to keep this blockbuster in check. Long, smoky, spicy and complex finish. Drink now through 2015. 1,000 cases made.

Coffee bean, plum liqueur, smoke, boysenberry and spice open to a round, fat, lush, modern style of Cote Rotie that finishes with oak, licorice and spicy black cherries.