Really singing at the top of its game with a smoky, aromatic profile made even better by its nuances of barbecue, smoked meat. licorice, spearmint, cherries, and plums, Grace, and power are at work here on the palate and in the dark red berry and spice-filled finish. Drink from 2023-2040.
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The most rustic one from lalala and has the most powerful palate. Thanks for its 100% syrah. At level likes this, it comes to which style you preferred.
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Holiday Champagne Gala (Park Ridge Country Club): In Guigal flight(s). Big and bold and ripe, lots of big, black flavors with power, but less aromatically forthcoming than previous bottles. Certainly very good, but the flight was simply dominated by Mouline 1989.
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I enjoyed this with a good friend for a belated celebration of our 40 birthdays. Drank it over the course of 3 hours with dinner at a nice French bistro. The wine is drinking really well right now. Powerful, yet incredibly elegant at the same time.
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Two Rhônes Diverged in a Wood.... ("Chateau La Grange" - La Grange IL): Double(ish) blind in Northern Rhône flight. Rich, black fruit and black pepper jumped out of the glass, screaming ripe vintage Côte-Rôtie with faint hints of evolution. So much here, very good weight and length. My 2nd fav (of 10) in the flight, group's #1.
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In a good drinking window, the tannins quickly resolved after decanting and this bottle displayed all the expected intensity and power with dark, rich fruit and there was certainly an exotic quality to this wine.
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a spectacular bottle. Dense and very rich. Lots of fruit, so well integrated and fully mature now. Compared to the Chave 2003 this is so smooth. Absolutely gorgeous.
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Tasted blind, this wine had a deep red center with orange at the rim. The nose was maybe medium- intensity at first and opened up to medium+ intensity after 6 hours of air. It put forth notes of plum, black spices, cola, and minerals.
In the mouth, this wine was rich and ripe with rounded tannin, solid acidity, and great length. As usual, it was the least expressive of the 3 1990 LaLas.
This wine was less tough and tannic than I thought it might be given its reputation. It had a absolute ton of fruit which buried its structure. However, this wine was really not quite ready for prime time yet. It was still opening up after 8 hours in the decanter.
While certainly drinkable, this bottle was begging for another 5-10 years in the cellar. It could well have a couple points of upside as it becomes more expressive like the Mouline.
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Midwinter, 27 July, 2020 (Pokai Parera, Ekatahuna, New Zealand): A modern expression of a structured and dense Cote Rotie style. By far the most animal of the Lalas in this vintage. Huge oak adds a creamy note to the dark undergrowth, burnt rubber, and dense deep flavours and aromas of this great wine. In full maturity, but there is no hurry.
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This wine is silky, smooth complex and has very long aftertaste. A great vintage in the hand of a strong producers can produce fireworks and this is a great example
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The additional fullness of fruit renders this more satisfying today versus the '89 served previously. But didn't have quite the same balance as the '89 did.
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The Last Supper (Before the Covid-19 Shutdown) (El Ideas): A perfect, arresting OMFG nose of savory plum and black cherry, with bacon, smoked game and olive. So hard to pull your nose out of the glass. The palate has richness and tension with similar complexity of flavors. Other worldly Syrah.
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Last Wine Dinner Before the Coronavirus Shutdown (EL Ideas - Chicago IL): Great nose with black cherry and plum, rich liqueur, baking spice and black pepper. Much less enticing flavors, this seemed slightly tired and advanced on palate. Palate was not quite up to the standard of previous bottles. still, very enjoyable, but "only" approx 93 points, while previously 2-3 points higher.
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Holy Moly! This thrilling wine has it all. While there is some tannin to resolve, and you get the feeling there is still something held in reserve, what you do find is off the charts! Intense, dense, powerful, regal, fresh, balanced and lively, the smoky essence, crushed rock, sweet plum, cherry, thyme, and pepper is more than ample to keep you busy. But the wealth of fruit, power and opulence on the palate is the real magic! The 60 second finish awards you time to enjoy the layers of pure, dark red fruits, cocoa, kirsch, pepper and spice.
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Expecting this to be a grand wine a tiny bit disappointing versus its reputation. Spectacular color with deep darker tones, beautiful masculine dark red. Love the freshness, acidity in this great red, while at the same time very well developed and fully mature and at (or just slightly over) its long peak. This wine has fully come into its own, with fully integrated fruit where separate components are no longer. A compelling bitter after tone in the taste. Autumn is a great way to describe it indeed, but who has anything against autumn as in an Indian summer. Not super complex as in layers and layers of complexity with vastly different dimensions but a great product of maturing into a Baron of a wine. I am not so sure this wine has a long life left and would for sure recommend not to count on that per se: it is as good as it gets now. Lovely
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Expressive nose of blackberry, roast meat, black pepper, and coffee. Silky and elegant with layered fruit and roast meat flavors. It requires patience but with time Guigal's LaLa's develop gorgeous nuance. The 1990 La Landonne is excellent.
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Eric's visit to DC - Champagne, White Burgundy, Rhone, Piedmont and etc. (Officina - Washington D.C.): Expressive youthful nose displaying decadent black fruit, blackberry liqueur, black cherry, a hint of mint, cappuccino, smoked bacon, tapenade, black pepper and earth. Excellent concentration, layers upon layers of decadent black fruit, silky and polished, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, and a seamless long sweet black fruit driven finish with cappuccino and smoke bacon at the end. It is halfway between the 90 Chave and La Chapelle in development. Just like the 80 La Mouline, there is nothing modern about it. Drinking beautifully but will easily hold for a couple more decades.
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A most enjoyable wine lunch (Eddie V's Prime Seafood McLean Virginia): Damn good ... roasted coast? Yes sir! Creosote sure, but not rustic. There is subtle opulence, then a truly Hermes level jam, very ripe but not ... jammy. You get a wet stone after a hard rain nuance, making this very Old World Syrah. Not a hot vintage hot Shiraz, but a rather elegant if seductive northern Rhone! Lovely.
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The palate blew me away. The nose was good but failed to signal just how good the wine would be on the palate. Searching for words, I come up with "deep." It's a deep wine.
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A more potent expression of this wine when viewed next to the '88. Ripe red fruit and still some wood notes to work through. Still could benefit from another few years in the bottle. 93-94+
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Acker Guigal La La dinner (Chef's Club - 275 Mulberry Street): A lot more opulent than the '91 served alongside it this was lower acidity and clearly from a warmer vintage. Again some fruit compote. Very tasty though. It's a wine that pulls a bit more from the hedonistic side. I liked it. Again though comes across as very young. This wine is going to last for ages.
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From Paris with Love, 2017 Edition; 11/18/2017-11/19/2017 (Paris (La Tour D'Argent & La Grande Cascade)): Side by side with the other 2 La Las of 1990. The Landonne is the shyest the less expressive of the 3 at this stage. Decanted for a good 35 minutes and served. Felt closed to begin and although it did develop and open up it still was nowhere close to the level of expressive nose the other 2 had. More olive notes, dark fruited, touch more oak here. Good concentration on the palate, harmonious wine , silky , round tannin and really delicious. 95-96, maybe one to cellar for a few more years.
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Wine Dinner Extravaganza (Mirabelle - Washington, DC): In Guigal 1990 "La La" horizontal. Rugged aromas made this seem backward, but that was dismissed once tasted. Black cherry and plum with meaty character. Black pepper, licorice and clove spice notes. Very concentrated, very long. Best flavors of the horizontal, probably the on;y one of the three with upside from here.
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Lazy Sunday lunch - La Las, Papa, Dom Oeno, Ultramarine, L’Oree, Nigl & old Prum (The Grill Room at Rosewood DC): Expressive decadent nose displaying blackberry, black cherry, cremes de cassis, milk chocolate, coffee, crushed black pepper, tapenade and charred rare steak. Excellent concentration, layers upon layers of decadent black fruit, bright acidity, strong presence of mineral, still noticeable sweet tannins and a long dark fruit driven finish that resonates. Really a hedonistic wine.
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Blackberry, smokey notes, rocky tones, and hints of sweet spice. Well balance and giving currently with more to come. Balanced fruit and acid bodes well here. 95+
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Rich black fruit with a lot of blackberry. Game meats, a light sweet smokiness underneath. Good umami tang on the palate and a fine acid spine. Still not at peak. Seems to be outperforming the '91 on the margin in recent experience, while the Mouline goes the other way.
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Northern Rhone blind dinner. 2nd time with this wine. Cote Brune is less agreeable with me than Blonde, too rustic for my taste. Roasted meat, red fruit, classic Rhone aromas and palate. Still vigorous, but much more mature than 1991 La Turque and finished a touch short.
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Gorgeous garnet in color with a lot of pronounced legs. Aromas of stone, burnt wood and garrigue. Very well integrated on the palate with some clove and cinnamon. Very smooth going down, with a finish 30+ seconds at the stingiest measure. Wow. Served under slightly too warm conditions -- might merit perfect score under ideal circumstances. Nicely mature, might get a little better if left alone for a while
A Great French Dinner (Indianapolis, IN): Beautiful purity of dark fruit. Meat, leather and tar, yet not remotely that of the Haut Brion. Black fruit and black pepper. Lingers in the mouth. Another complete and beautiful wine.
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1990 Dinner at University Club (Chicago): My wine of the night and I am really loving La Landonne lately. The most expressive nose of the evening with intense black fruit, black pepper, and grilled meats. Big, bold yet elegant and silky in the mouth with a delicious floral streak. Bright and youthful. While there was plenty of detail, this was so youthful and energetic is seemed almost primary. Very very long finish with wonderful grip. Outstanding.
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The Guigal La-La’s are some of our favorite wines and the 1990 was singing! Great fruit and fig on the palate with hints of grilled meat wrapped in rosemary. carbonized edges, sweet tannins and purple flowers. Quintessential sweetness of a La-La. Virtually perfect!
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With each bottle of aged Guigal La Landonne, I become more and more impressed. I am not sure if this is attributed to the effects of additional age on the bottle, or on me, but my appreciation for this stunning wine grows every year. And why not? The levels of depth of flavor, raw material and concentration, complexity, balance, harmony, hedonistic tendencies and ageless quality are not found in any other wine. Still young, you can enjoy this now, or over the next 20 to 30 years, or maybe even longer!
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Brilliant! Bright colour, incredible aroma of bacon, cassis, smoke, black fruits. Delectable sweetness, balanced impeccably with sweet tannins and perfectly complementary acidity and structure. At its peak! Drink and enjoy.
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Soft elegant black fruit interplays on the palate. The epitome of Shiraz In a burgundy velvet glove. Excellent! The most together and well balanced to the point compared to the other lalas of the same vintage. A pinnacle of Shiraz to be imitated.
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End of the World Dinner (Nicolas Restaurant, Teck Lim Street, Singapore): Truly awesome. This was as good, if not even better than a wonderful bottle of 1989 La Landonne I had last year, which was to date the greatest Syrah I had ever tasted. While not quite as ready as the softer, rounder La Mouline earlier in the flight, or even the lively, energetic La Turque, this was still my favourite of the three 1990 Lalas. It had the meatiest character of the three wines, with its 100% Syrah character showing in a deep, compelling nose of dusty earth, roasted beef and subtle shades of plums, black cherries and berries, all seasoned with a twist of herbs and a hint of dried flowers. Still a bit tight, a bit primary, but boy was it a nice nose. The palate was really youthful as well. Like the nose, it was still a bit primary, still tightly coiled, with black tea and herb notes wrapped around a core of black cherries and black cherries, only slowly opening up to show a real sense of power and quite majestic depth. Remarkably though, for the weight and depth the wine carried, it always remained supple, muscular, almost lithe, with a lovely structure of velvety tannins and fine acidity running through its reservoir of black fruited flavours, which in turn played against a backdrop of dried earth and roasted meat, with touches of herb and spice on the midpalate. Wonderful stuff. This had the greatest depth and power of the three wines, and the longest ending too, pulling away in a long, effortlessly intense finish that filled every part of the backpalate with meaty goodness. A great, great wine – it shares the same monolithic depth and solidity of the very best young Musignies or Pauillacs, but also the nobility and elegance that only its greatest brethren from Burgundy and Bordeaux display. I was floored by this. Superb on the night, but give this 10 years, and it will be amazing.
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Monday Night 1990 Themed Dinner (The Principal): Young and primary but just entering its drinking window. Quite meaty on the nose. Lots of raw power balanced by wonderful acidity. This wine had it all. Already good today but will be great in another 5-10 years. Out of the three Las the Landonne is normally the one i least prefer but this was no doubt a lovely bottle.
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This seems a bit meatier and more blue fruits driven than La Mouline. Excellent concentration, seems almost abit more youthful than La Mouline but the nose is not as complex and expressive. Lovely wine.
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incredible black fruit aromas with black pepper, anise, black truffle, then some slight floral notes in background. Amazing blackberry flavors with some liqueur elements, great concentration, with huge power and length that lasts for well over a minute. Best of all, the concentration is accompanied by complete balance and great textures. Still very youthful, this might continue to improve over the next decade with further upside from here. Popped and poured, then slowly consumed over two hours, this would have greatly benefited from a few hours in a decanter.
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Had alongside 90 La Turque and 90 La Mouline. This was my least preferred, slightly dull and brooding. Perhaps a not so good bottle but it lacked the vibrancy of the other two. Closed down in the glass while the La Turque and La Mouline blossomed, particularly the La Turque which seemed to get better every minute.
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Lost in a tasting to 70 Trotanoy. Silver medal not bad. Third was 96 Margaux and 99 Petrus runt of the litter. Go figure. This wine is outstanding. Buy all you can.
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Served at annual Wine Pigs dinner at Volt. Consensus opinion it was an outstanding wine but unfortunately another off bottle! Served with sixth course of Jameson Farms lamb with cauliflower, crisp panisse, smoked golden rasins, red malabar spinach. We forgave the French Man because of his incredible efforts putting this amazing dinner together.
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hoppa, rode kleur, oogt een stuk jonger, de neus moet echt even op gang komen. na een half uur is de geur intens, fruitig, kersen, zwarte bes, mooie minerale toon, vurig gesteente, graniet, warmte, mooie zachte vanille toon op de achtergrond, smaak is breed geschouderd, krachtig, weer intens, mooie balans, elegantie zachtheid, licht romig, heel aangenaam, zijde zacht, blijft zich ontwikkelen in het glas, wijn is op z'n top maar heeft nog genoeg uithoudingsvermogen voor 15 jaar+, echt genieten bij de prachtige hertenbiefstuk uit de waterleidingsduinen, gewoon op de maandag
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Best La Landonne of the night. The bottle is well intergrated and firing on all cylinders. Still a baby and will wait 5 years before I open up another bottle.
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Awesomely well balanced and bright. Nice weight; showing a bit of age. Silky texture and sweetness. A delectable wine. Came in second - tasted beside the 2001 Shafer Hillside Select (WOTN), the 1998 Astralis, the 2002 Torbreck Factor (#3) and the Dalla Vale 1996. A brilliant wine.
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Dinner with the Cassettas (The Square, London): Nose is lighter, more restrained, more 'burgundian', and so fragrant. Very supple fruit, much more layered fruit profile, solid acidity with light tannins, amazing texture, a wine to relax into, so elegant.
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This wine really opened up after 8 hours in the decanter. Double-decanted to start. It is a brooding, very very big wine with a strong backbone. The fruit is rich once the acid and tannin make way for it. The tannins are vibrant and soft after time. The nose is intense, with bacon, smoked meats, butterscotch, chocolate and cassis. The mouthfeel is incredible. An unbelievably intense wine with a finish that seems to last forever. Drink again in 3 years.
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S.F. - Rubicon High End Rhone Wines (Rubicon, S.F.): Again dark as night this is an absolute champion. With its crazy aromatics and unimaginable concentration I was thinking, how does Guigal manage to get that much flavor in my glass.
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Dark red with just a hint of browning at the rim. At first this wine was closed on the nose. Then it opened up on a weird chlorine like note. And then after 15 minutes in the glass a complete change. The bouquet went crazy on notes of truffles and mush-rooms. Incredibly dense and strong, yet so seductive, tantazling and caressing in nature. How do they manage to put all this into a bottle?? Sweet, delicious and even charming - a paradox given the monster-like intensity and concentration. This wine is a hallmark example that size can be coupled with finesse. There's not much more to say.
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Dark red. Scents of nougat and nuts. Very peppary in flavour profile. Clasically Cote Rotie. Superb elegance and power. But just a touch lacking in juiciness, sweetness and what one could call the hedonism parameter. Slightly monolithic.
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9/12/2023 - Jeff Leve wrote: 98 Points
Really singing at the top of its game with a smoky, aromatic profile made even better by its nuances of barbecue, smoked meat. licorice, spearmint, cherries, and plums, Grace, and power are at work here on the palate and in the dark red berry and spice-filled finish. Drink from 2023-2040.
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2/25/2023 - Bullethead Likes this wine: 98 Points
The most rustic one from lalala and has the most powerful palate. Thanks for its 100% syrah. At level likes this, it comes to which style you preferred.
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12/17/2022 - Burgundy Al wrote: 94 Points
Holiday Champagne Gala (Park Ridge Country Club): In Guigal flight(s). Big and bold and ripe, lots of big, black flavors with power, but less aromatically forthcoming than previous bottles. Certainly very good, but the flight was simply dominated by Mouline 1989.
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4/23/2022 - Baherber wrote: 98 Points
I enjoyed this with a good friend for a belated celebration of our 40 birthdays. Drank it over the course of 3 hours with dinner at a nice French bistro. The wine is drinking really well right now. Powerful, yet incredibly elegant at the same time.
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12/25/2021 - RayOB Likes this wine: 95 Points
Drank in Ireland
Fully mature with a wonderful complexity
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3/30/2021 - Burgundy Al wrote: 95 Points
Two Rhônes Diverged in a Wood.... ("Chateau La Grange" - La Grange IL): Double(ish) blind in Northern Rhône flight. Rich, black fruit and black pepper jumped out of the glass, screaming ripe vintage Côte-Rôtie with faint hints of evolution. So much here, very good weight and length. My 2nd fav (of 10) in the flight, group's #1.
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11/28/2020 - burlingtonm Likes this wine: 95 Points
In a good drinking window, the tannins quickly resolved after decanting and this bottle displayed all the expected intensity and power with dark, rich fruit and there was certainly an exotic quality to this wine.
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10/25/2020 - Ozen Likes this wine: 97 Points
a spectacular bottle. Dense and very rich. Lots of fruit, so well integrated and fully mature now. Compared to the Chave 2003 this is so smooth. Absolutely gorgeous.
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8/16/2020 - fclarity wrote: 96 Points
Tasted blind, this wine had a deep red center with orange at the rim. The nose was maybe medium- intensity at first and opened up to medium+ intensity after 6 hours of air. It put forth notes of plum, black spices, cola, and minerals.
In the mouth, this wine was rich and ripe with rounded tannin, solid acidity, and great length. As usual, it was the least expressive of the 3 1990 LaLas.
This wine was less tough and tannic than I thought it might be given its reputation. It had a absolute ton of fruit which buried its structure. However, this wine was really not quite ready for prime time yet. It was still opening up after 8 hours in the decanter.
While certainly drinkable, this bottle was begging for another 5-10 years in the cellar. It could well have a couple points of upside as it becomes more expressive like the Mouline.
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7/27/2020 - Marc wrote: 95 Points
Midwinter, 27 July, 2020 (Pokai Parera, Ekatahuna, New Zealand): A modern expression of a structured and dense Cote Rotie style. By far the most animal of the Lalas in this vintage. Huge oak adds a creamy note to the dark undergrowth, burnt rubber, and dense deep flavours and aromas of this great wine. In full maturity, but there is no hurry.
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7/24/2020 - Hanibal Likes this wine: 95 Points
This wine is silky, smooth complex and has very long aftertaste. A great vintage in the hand of a strong producers can produce fireworks and this is a great example
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4/24/2020 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 94 Points
The additional fullness of fruit renders this more satisfying today versus the '89 served previously. But didn't have quite the same balance as the '89 did.
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3/15/2020 - Nanda wrote: 97 Points
The Last Supper (Before the Covid-19 Shutdown) (El Ideas): A perfect, arresting OMFG nose of savory plum and black cherry, with bacon, smoked game and olive. So hard to pull your nose out of the glass. The palate has richness and tension with similar complexity of flavors. Other worldly Syrah.
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3/15/2020 - Burgundy Al wrote:
Last Wine Dinner Before the Coronavirus Shutdown (EL Ideas - Chicago IL): Great nose with black cherry and plum, rich liqueur, baking spice and black pepper. Much less enticing flavors, this seemed slightly tired and advanced on palate. Palate was not quite up to the standard of previous bottles. still, very enjoyable, but "only" approx 93 points, while previously 2-3 points higher.
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2/22/2020 - Jeff Leve wrote: 99 Points
Holy Moly! This thrilling wine has it all. While there is some tannin to resolve, and you get the feeling there is still something held in reserve, what you do find is off the charts! Intense, dense, powerful, regal, fresh, balanced and lively, the smoky essence, crushed rock, sweet plum, cherry, thyme, and pepper is more than ample to keep you busy. But the wealth of fruit, power and opulence on the palate is the real magic! The 60 second finish awards you time to enjoy the layers of pure, dark red fruits, cocoa, kirsch, pepper and spice.
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12/23/2019 - Ozen wrote: 96 Points
Expecting this to be a grand wine a tiny bit disappointing versus its reputation. Spectacular color with deep darker tones, beautiful masculine dark red. Love the freshness, acidity in this great red, while at the same time very well developed and fully mature and at (or just slightly over) its long peak. This wine has fully come into its own, with fully integrated fruit where separate components are no longer. A compelling bitter after tone in the taste. Autumn is a great way to describe it indeed, but who has anything against autumn as in an Indian summer. Not super complex as in layers and layers of complexity with vastly different dimensions but a great product of maturing into a Baron of a wine. I am not so sure this wine has a long life left and would for sure recommend not to count on that per se: it is as good as it gets now. Lovely
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12/7/2019 - Zweder wrote: 97 Points
Occasional dinner group. Keller, Coche Dury, Guigal La Landonne plus some ringers. (By PVa @ Monarh in Tilburg, The Netherlands): In the bouquet mature and rustic flavors. Autumn forest as well. On the palate chocolate, cigar box, garrigue and autumn impressions. A firm amount of beautifully fresh acidity. There still is 3 - 5+? years of future in this wine.
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11/28/2019 - rlove wrote: 95 Points
Expressive nose of blackberry, roast meat, black pepper, and coffee. Silky and elegant with layered fruit and roast meat flavors. It requires patience but with time Guigal's LaLa's develop gorgeous nuance. The 1990 La Landonne is excellent.
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7/2/2019 - steinersing wrote: 95 Points
velvety power here, just early hints of secondary aromas. very fine.
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12/12/2018 - dcwino wrote: 97 Points
Eric's visit to DC - Champagne, White Burgundy, Rhone, Piedmont and etc. (Officina - Washington D.C.): Expressive youthful nose displaying decadent black fruit, blackberry liqueur, black cherry, a hint of mint, cappuccino, smoked bacon, tapenade, black pepper and earth. Excellent concentration, layers upon layers of decadent black fruit, silky and polished, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, and a seamless long sweet black fruit driven finish with cappuccino and smoke bacon at the end. It is halfway between the 90 Chave and La Chapelle in development. Just like the 80 La Mouline, there is nothing modern about it. Drinking beautifully but will easily hold for a couple more decades.
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11/5/2018 - PanosKakaviatos Likes this wine: 96 Points
A most enjoyable wine lunch (Eddie V's Prime Seafood McLean Virginia): Damn good ... roasted coast? Yes sir! Creosote sure, but not rustic. There is subtle opulence, then a truly Hermes level jam, very ripe but not ... jammy. You get a wet stone after a hard rain nuance, making this very Old World Syrah. Not a hot vintage hot Shiraz, but a rather elegant if seductive northern Rhone! Lovely.
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9/14/2018 - ID Likes this wine:
The palate blew me away. The nose was good but failed to signal just how good the wine would be on the palate. Searching for words, I come up with "deep." It's a deep wine.
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6/8/2018 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 93 Points
A more potent expression of this wine when viewed next to the '88. Ripe red fruit and still some wood notes to work through. Still could benefit from another few years in the bottle. 93-94+
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3/20/2018 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Acker Guigal La La dinner (Chef's Club - 275 Mulberry Street): A lot more opulent than the '91 served alongside it this was lower acidity and clearly from a warmer vintage. Again some fruit compote. Very tasty though. It's a wine that pulls a bit more from the hedonistic side. I liked it. Again though comes across as very young. This wine is going to last for ages.
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2/18/2018 - MJReb wrote: 97 Points
Chez JPL: fantastic wine, sweetness in the best sense, herbs, complete wine at full maturity
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11/18/2017 - Papies wrote: 96 Points
From Paris with Love, 2017 Edition; 11/18/2017-11/19/2017 (Paris (La Tour D'Argent & La Grande Cascade)): Side by side with the other 2 La Las of 1990. The Landonne is the shyest the less expressive of the 3 at this stage.
Decanted for a good 35 minutes and served. Felt closed to begin and although it did develop and open up it still was nowhere close to the level of expressive nose the other 2 had. More olive notes, dark fruited, touch more oak here. Good concentration on the palate, harmonious wine , silky , round tannin and really delicious. 95-96, maybe one to cellar for a few more years.
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10/27/2017 - Burgundy Al wrote: 95 Points
Wine Dinner Extravaganza (Mirabelle - Washington, DC): In Guigal 1990 "La La" horizontal. Rugged aromas made this seem backward, but that was dismissed once tasted. Black cherry and plum with meaty character. Black pepper, licorice and clove spice notes. Very concentrated, very long. Best flavors of the horizontal, probably the on;y one of the three with upside from here.
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4/28/2017 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 92 Points
Subdued bottle but still presenting a well constructed palate of soil, fruit and spice.
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4/2/2017 - dcwino wrote: 97 Points
Lazy Sunday lunch - La Las, Papa, Dom Oeno, Ultramarine, L’Oree, Nigl & old Prum (The Grill Room at Rosewood DC): Expressive decadent nose displaying blackberry, black cherry, cremes de cassis, milk chocolate, coffee, crushed black pepper, tapenade and charred rare steak. Excellent concentration, layers upon layers of decadent black fruit, bright acidity, strong presence of mineral, still noticeable sweet tannins and a long dark fruit driven finish that resonates. Really a hedonistic wine.
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2/28/2017 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 95 Points
Blackberry, smokey notes, rocky tones, and hints of sweet spice. Well balance and giving currently with more to come. Balanced fruit and acid bodes well here. 95+
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1/1/2017 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 95 Points
Rich black fruit with a lot of blackberry. Game meats, a light sweet smokiness underneath. Good umami tang on the palate and a fine acid spine. Still not at peak. Seems to be outperforming the '91 on the margin in recent experience, while the Mouline goes the other way.
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11/26/2016 - canan wrote: 96 Points
BYO @ Mathias: Lots of animalistic notes, barnyard, dried meat. Great wine with an amazing complexity!
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8/25/2016 - fcxj wrote: 90 Points
Northern Rhone blind dinner. 2nd time with this wine. Cote Brune is less agreeable with me than Blonde, too rustic for my taste. Roasted meat, red fruit, classic Rhone aromas and palate. Still vigorous, but much more mature than 1991 La Turque and finished a touch short.
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6/18/2016 - JJYoyo Likes this wine: 98 Points
Gorgeous garnet in color with a lot of pronounced legs. Aromas of stone, burnt wood and garrigue. Very well integrated on the palate with some clove and cinnamon. Very smooth going down, with a finish 30+ seconds at the stingiest measure. Wow. Served under slightly too warm conditions -- might merit perfect score under ideal circumstances. Nicely mature, might get a little better if left alone for a while
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12/9/2014 - Seth Rosenberg wrote:
I just got a small bit of this. Big dark nose of olive, meat. Huge on the palate - olives, meat, minerals. Not at all ready.
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10/10/2014 - fcxj wrote: 94 Points
Rustic
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9/14/2014 - ATBridge wrote:
A Great French Dinner (Indianapolis, IN): Beautiful purity of dark fruit. Meat, leather and tar, yet not remotely that of the Haut Brion. Black fruit and black pepper. Lingers in the mouth. Another complete and beautiful wine.
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8/2/2014 - johnh1001 wrote: 97 Points
1990 Dinner at University Club (Chicago): My wine of the night and I am really loving La Landonne lately. The most expressive nose of the evening with intense black fruit, black pepper, and grilled meats. Big, bold yet elegant and silky in the mouth with a delicious floral streak. Bright and youthful. While there was plenty of detail, this was so youthful and energetic is seemed almost primary. Very very long finish with wonderful grip. Outstanding.
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4/5/2014 - dkentaustin Likes this wine: 97 Points
The Guigal La-La’s are some of our favorite wines and the 1990 was singing! Great fruit and fig on the palate with hints of grilled meat wrapped in rosemary. carbonized edges, sweet tannins and purple flowers. Quintessential sweetness of a La-La. Virtually perfect!
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11/24/2013 - Jeff Leve wrote: 100 Points
With each bottle of aged Guigal La Landonne, I become more and more impressed. I am not sure if this is attributed to the effects of additional age on the bottle, or on me, but my appreciation for this stunning wine grows every year. And why not? The levels of depth of flavor, raw material and concentration, complexity, balance, harmony, hedonistic tendencies and ageless quality are not found in any other wine. Still young, you can enjoy this now, or over the next 20 to 30 years, or maybe even longer!
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11/8/2013 - dcwino wrote: 99 Points
World Wine Symposium 2013 - Kevin and Kelly's excellent adventure; 11/6/2013-11/14/2013 (Villa D’este, Lake Como): Incredibly expressive nose of blackberries, crèmes de cassis, wild flowers, black pepper, tapenade and fatty rare steak. Excellent concentration, silky palate, bright acidity and fully integrated tannins. Drinking beautifully. This is a hedonistic wine at its best.
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6/26/2013 - la turque wrote: 100 Points
Brilliant! Bright colour, incredible aroma of bacon, cassis, smoke, black fruits. Delectable sweetness, balanced impeccably with sweet tannins and perfectly complementary acidity and structure. At its peak! Drink and enjoy.
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12/16/2012 - Alex H wrote: 92 Points
Soft elegant black fruit interplays on the palate. The epitome of Shiraz In a burgundy velvet glove. Excellent! The most together and well balanced to the point compared to the other lalas of the same vintage. A pinnacle of Shiraz to be imitated.
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12/15/2012 - Paul S wrote: 96 Points
End of the World Dinner (Nicolas Restaurant, Teck Lim Street, Singapore): Truly awesome. This was as good, if not even better than a wonderful bottle of 1989 La Landonne I had last year, which was to date the greatest Syrah I had ever tasted. While not quite as ready as the softer, rounder La Mouline earlier in the flight, or even the lively, energetic La Turque, this was still my favourite of the three 1990 Lalas. It had the meatiest character of the three wines, with its 100% Syrah character showing in a deep, compelling nose of dusty earth, roasted beef and subtle shades of plums, black cherries and berries, all seasoned with a twist of herbs and a hint of dried flowers. Still a bit tight, a bit primary, but boy was it a nice nose. The palate was really youthful as well. Like the nose, it was still a bit primary, still tightly coiled, with black tea and herb notes wrapped around a core of black cherries and black cherries, only slowly opening up to show a real sense of power and quite majestic depth. Remarkably though, for the weight and depth the wine carried, it always remained supple, muscular, almost lithe, with a lovely structure of velvety tannins and fine acidity running through its reservoir of black fruited flavours, which in turn played against a backdrop of dried earth and roasted meat, with touches of herb and spice on the midpalate. Wonderful stuff. This had the greatest depth and power of the three wines, and the longest ending too, pulling away in a long, effortlessly intense finish that filled every part of the backpalate with meaty goodness. A great, great wine – it shares the same monolithic depth and solidity of the very best young Musignies or Pauillacs, but also the nobility and elegance that only its greatest brethren from Burgundy and Bordeaux display. I was floored by this. Superb on the night, but give this 10 years, and it will be amazing.
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2/27/2012 - cortoncharlie wrote: 95 Points
Monday Night 1990 Themed Dinner (The Principal): Young and primary but just entering its drinking window. Quite meaty on the nose. Lots of raw power balanced by wonderful acidity. This wine had it all. Already good today but will be great in another 5-10 years. Out of the three Las the Landonne is normally the one i least prefer but this was no doubt a lovely bottle.
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2/1/2012 - dcwino wrote: 97 Points
This seems a bit meatier and more blue fruits driven than La Mouline. Excellent concentration, seems almost abit more youthful than La Mouline but the nose is not as complex and expressive. Lovely wine.
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1/5/2012 - Burgundy Al wrote: 96 Points
incredible black fruit aromas with black pepper, anise, black truffle, then some slight floral notes in background. Amazing blackberry flavors with some liqueur elements, great concentration, with huge power and length that lasts for well over a minute. Best of all, the concentration is accompanied by complete balance and great textures. Still very youthful, this might continue to improve over the next decade with further upside from here. Popped and poured, then slowly consumed over two hours, this would have greatly benefited from a few hours in a decanter.
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1/1/2012 - mike wrote: 95 Points
Had alongside 90 La Turque and 90 La Mouline. This was my least preferred, slightly dull and brooding. Perhaps a not so good bottle but it lacked the vibrancy of the other two. Closed down in the glass while the La Turque and La Mouline blossomed, particularly the La Turque which seemed to get better every minute.
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12/14/2011 - DavidF90210 Likes this wine: 99 Points
Lost in a tasting to 70 Trotanoy. Silver medal not bad. Third was 96 Margaux and 99 Petrus runt of the litter. Go figure. This wine is outstanding. Buy all you can.
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11/3/2011 - Mr. Muga wrote: 93 Points
Served at annual Wine Pigs dinner at Volt. Consensus opinion it was an outstanding wine but unfortunately another off bottle! Served with sixth course of Jameson Farms lamb with cauliflower, crisp panisse, smoked golden rasins, red malabar spinach. We forgave the French Man because of his incredible efforts putting this amazing dinner together.
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2/21/2011 - Biglama wrote: 97 Points
hoppa, rode kleur, oogt een stuk jonger, de neus moet echt even op gang komen. na een half uur is de geur intens, fruitig, kersen, zwarte bes, mooie minerale toon, vurig gesteente, graniet, warmte, mooie zachte vanille toon op de achtergrond, smaak is breed geschouderd, krachtig, weer intens, mooie balans, elegantie zachtheid, licht romig, heel aangenaam, zijde zacht, blijft zich ontwikkelen in het glas, wijn is op z'n top maar heeft nog genoeg uithoudingsvermogen voor 15 jaar+, echt genieten bij de prachtige hertenbiefstuk uit de waterleidingsduinen, gewoon op de maandag
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1/27/2011 - Johann Von Mastiff wrote: 98 Points
Just popped and poured. Still fairly young and tight. The color is still fairly intense as well. Everything you'd expect out of this wine and more.
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5/11/2010 - Le Musigny wrote: 95 Points
Best La Landonne of the night. The bottle is well intergrated and firing on all cylinders. Still a baby and will wait 5 years before I open up another bottle.
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12/30/2009 - Jossik wrote: 96 Points
Più materia e meno eleganza del La Turque 1985 bevuto vicino, bacon anche al naso, spezie, carne. Più vivace.
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1/13/2009 - la turque wrote: 99 Points
Awesomely well balanced and bright. Nice weight; showing a bit of age. Silky texture and sweetness. A delectable wine. Came in second - tasted beside the 2001 Shafer Hillside Select (WOTN), the 1998 Astralis, the 2002 Torbreck Factor (#3) and the Dalla Vale 1996. A brilliant wine.
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11/7/2008 - gorm wrote: 97 Points
Uncorked DK BYO - 85 Cristal Rose, 90 DRC RSV, 90 La Landonne, 82 Mouton and more... (Søllerød Kro): Dark red, light rim. Dark spicy and sweet berries, coffee, loads of tobacco and some cedar tree. Very intense with a Bordeaux like structure and very long.
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5/17/2008 - Totatalitarian wrote:
On the tight and reticent side, this bottle was still elegant and enjoyable.
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9/25/2006 - Russell Faulkner wrote: 98 Points
Dinner with the Cassettas (The Square, London): Nose is lighter, more restrained, more 'burgundian', and so fragrant. Very supple fruit, much more layered fruit profile, solid acidity with light tannins, amazing texture, a wine to relax into, so elegant.
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12/23/2005 - la turque wrote: 98 Points
This wine really opened up after 8 hours in the decanter. Double-decanted to start. It is a brooding, very very big wine with a strong backbone. The fruit is rich once the acid and tannin make way for it. The tannins are vibrant and soft after time. The nose is intense, with bacon, smoked meats, butterscotch, chocolate and cassis. The mouthfeel is incredible. An unbelievably intense wine with a finish that seems to last forever. Drink again in 3 years.
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6/22/2005 - jamiekutch wrote: 96 Points
S.F. - Rubicon High End Rhone Wines (Rubicon, S.F.): Again dark as night this is an absolute champion. With its crazy aromatics and unimaginable concentration I was thinking, how does Guigal manage to get that much flavor in my glass.
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11/7/2003 - Joe Belmaati wrote: 100 Points
Dark red with just a hint of browning at the rim. At first this wine was closed on the nose. Then it opened up on a weird chlorine like note. And then after 15 minutes in the glass a complete change. The bouquet went crazy on notes of truffles and mush-rooms. Incredibly dense and strong, yet so seductive, tantazling and caressing in nature. How do they manage to put all this into a bottle?? Sweet, delicious and even charming - a paradox given the monster-like intensity and concentration. This wine is a hallmark example that size can be coupled with finesse. There's not much more to say.
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5/10/2003 - Joe Belmaati wrote: 94 Points
Dark red. Scents of nougat and nuts. Very peppary in flavour profile. Clasically Cote Rotie. Superb elegance and power. But just a touch lacking in juiciness, sweetness and what one could call the hedonism parameter. Slightly monolithic.
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