I loved the 2017 Côte Rôtie Château D'Ampuis. This brilliant wine is as seamless and sexy as they come, with medium to full-bodied richness and nothing out of place. Black raspberries, spice box, hints of game, and spicy oak all define the bouquet, and while it’s not massive, it has nothing out of place, offering ripe, polished tannins, beautiful purity, and a great finish. It’s just a flat-out gorgeous bottle of wine. Reminding me of the 2011, it should have two decades of prime drinking at a minimum.

Deep violet color. Energetic blueberry, black raspberry, potpourri and exotic spice qualities on the extroverted nose. Juicy and energetic on the palate, offering sappy black and blue fruit, allspice, star anise and floral pastille flavors that stain the palate and deepen through the back half. Closes impressively long and sweet, with repeating blue fruit character, well-knit tannins and reverberating mineral and spice notes. -- Josh Raynolds

A big step up over the 2017 Brune & Blonde (which I rated 91 points back in May 2021), Guigal's 2017 Cote Rotie Chateau d'Ampuis epitomizes the appellation, with sexy complexities of smoky bacon fat interlaced with skeins of blueberries and cherries. Full-bodied, creamy and lush in feel, finishing long and succulent, it's a terrific Cote Rotie to drink over the next 20 years. - Joe Czerwinski

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. 750 cases made, 200 cases imported. — JM