October 20, 2023 - Loosing its power. It’s not bad but should have been opened years ago.
December 26, 2020 - Savoury, olive, graphite and meaty. Bright acidity but lacking in mid palate. Surprisingly really improved after a day and still going strong on second day.
June 3, 2020 - Oxidized! Ouch! I hate when that happens on an expensive bottle of wine. This wine was dead on arrival. Soy, charcoal, raisin, smoke. It wasn't so bad that I had to pour it down the drain, so I decided to run an experiment and then opened a bottle of 1994 Guigal La Landonne to taste them side by side. The 1994 was as fresh as a daisy confirming that the 2002 was a complete dud. I tasted the 2002 La Landonne back in 2017 during a LaLa horizontal and rated it 95 points. There is no way this wine had past its peak with just a few more years of age. Thankfully, I had the 1994 bottle with me to restore my faith in Guigal's LaLas.
August 16, 2019 - leicht gereifte Farbe. Hat keinerlei Guigal-Pfeffer in der Nase, erste Reife, Leder, Holz. Am Gaumen mittelgewichtig, den ganz großen Druck hat er nicht, auch nicht die Präzision großer Jahrgänge, der ist ein wenig diffus, hat einen Tick Säure im Finale. Ein schmackhafter Wein, für eine Guigal-Lage aber dann doch zu wenig. Habe ihn in der Blindprobe weder als Syrah und schon gar nicht als Guigal erkannt.
March 24, 2019 - What a sensational wine! Every now and then you have this chance to try a genuinely great bottle... this was one of them.
The 2002 is fully mature but can certainly hold at this level for a long time. Deep maroon in color, with a lovely limpid texture, the wine is stunningly aromatic. Dried cherries, brioche, melted licorice, garrigue are just a few of the more distinguishable aromas in a true potpourri, very complex and fascinating. Long and richly flavored, not at all overripe, with a primary palate centered on griotte cherry but all sorts of nuances, enrobed in velvety tannins and with just the right level of acidity.
December 2, 2017 - 2002 La La Horizontal Tasting. It is truly impressive what Guigal was able to achieve with this difficult vintage in Cote-Rotie. This was the best of the three in my opinion because it had the most stuffing and power behind it. While the finish had more backbone & structure, the nose & mid-palate was my preferred La La. If this wine tastes this good from 2002 vintage, I can only imagine what it tastes like from a good vintage. Pop & Poured with no decant. However, consumed these over a 3 hour period. A great expression of Northern Rhone Syrah & Viognier.
May 8, 2017 - Joli vin très bien construit. Rien ne dépasse.
Elégant avec une finale mentholée marquée qui apporte de la fraîcheur.
On sent encore l'élevage.
A attendre encore quelques années.
Jolie réussite dans un millésime compliqué.
February 21, 2017 - Tasted over two days, alongside the other two same vintage La Las; initially blind. This was the least open of the three, even after a few hours in the decanter, and the most unique. With time in the glass pepper and cured meat notes came forward, and a lack of creamy texture, compared to the other two, revealed that this was the La Landonne.
This made the best impression on the second day, having evolved the most. Pepper, lavender, savory, tar, and mineral notes were pronounced, and it had added weight.
Overall, somewhat underwhelming compared to great vintages but exceptionally well made and a superb offering. It has several years of life but not likely to improve. Drink by 2022-2025. 93-94.
February 17, 2017 - 40th bday celebration; 2/17/2017-2/18/2017 (Harrison, ID): The 1st of all three LaLa's started a bit angular but showed charcoal, lavender, garrigue, more fruit than I would have expected with wild blackberry, huckleberry and other dark but tart fruits that finished with great acids. Improved over 4days and pure syrah.
July 5, 2016 - Sans prise de notes.