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Côte Rôtie Lancement, Domaine Stéphane Ogier 2017

Tasting Notes

A classic wine from this terroir, the 2017 Côte Rôtie Lancement offers a massive bouquet of black raspberries, ground pepper, violets, and bacon fat. Deep, rich, full-bodied, concentrated, and powerful, it's nevertheless perfectly balanced, elegant and seamless. It's another 2017 that needs 4-6 years of bottle age.

Unquestionably, one of the most exciting domaines in the world of wine today is that of superstar winemaker Stephane Ogier, who continues to purchase and plant new vineyards throughout Côte Rôtie and the Northern Rhône. I was blown away by his 2017s, and his Côte Rôtie Côte Blonde is unquestionably one of the wines of the vintage, as well as one of the greatest Côte Rôties I’ve had the opportunity to taste. While it’s still in barrel, the Côte Rôtie Belle Helene is another wine with perfection written all over it. In general, his 2017s shows ripe, expressive aromatics and tons of fruit, yet they have a firm, structured vibe on the palate and need bottle age. The 2018s, which are from a vintage compared to 1991 by Stéphane, show a slightly more rounded, seamless profile with silkier tannins. These wines shine for their purity of fruit as well as balance. While the expensive releases get all the attention, don’t miss the La Rosine, L’Ame Soeur, Saint Joseph, or Côte Rôtie Mon Village from this estate. These are terrific wines that offer loads of character and represent smoking values for the true wine lovers and wine drinkers out there.

97+
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, December 2019

This is the third time I've tasted Stéphane Ogier's 2017 Cote Rotie Lancement, and it has been consistently outstanding. Vaguely floral notes add intrigue to the deep raspberry and cassis fruit, balanced by more savory notes of coffee beans and charred beef. It's medium to full-bodied, sturdy and muscular, with plentiful (but ripe) tannins that give the lengthy finish a rich, velvety texture. I suspect it will close down shortly, then reemerge in several years and drink well through 2040.

96
Joe Czerwinski, RobertParker.com, May 2021
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.