2012 Côte-Rôtie Ampodium Domaine Rostaing

Rostaing owns 24 parcels throughout the appellation, 10 to 100 year old vines. All but Côte Blonde and La Landonne go into this (Ampodium was the Roman name of the village of Ampuis at the heart of Côte-Rôtie). Quite pale, transparent colour. Very spicy - some stalks in this? Violets and sweet berry fruit. Nice and dry with a firm finish. Very fine, with a reasonable intensity of fruit. 2014 to 2020

Starting with Rene's classic Cote Rotie, the 2012 Cote Rotie Ampodium is a mostly destemmed blend from Rene's 13 different terroirs. It's aged in a combination of demi-muid and older barrels, with just 5% being new. It's a smoking base cuvee that does everything right, offering up tons of sweet blackberry, wild herbs, pepper, spice and olive aromas and flavors. Full-bodied, beautifully textured and with impressive concentration, all while stay classic and elegant, it's a no-brainer purchase and will have 15-20 years of longevity.

Youthful purple color. Highly perfumed aromas of blueberry, cherry-cola, violet and cracked pepper, with a zesty mineral overtone. Juicy and appealingly sweet, offering lively black and blue fruit flavors that put on weight with air. Finishes silky, sweet and long, with soft tannins adding shape and gentle grip. I'll bet that this wine will be drinking well soon after release.

Vivid purple. Fresh black and blue fruits and potpourri on the expressive, expansive nose. Highly floral and spicy, with intense dark berry and bitter cherry flavors becoming sweeter with aeration. This precise wine finishes with excellent thrust, sneaky tannins and lingering floral and Asian spice notes. Rostaing pointed out that this is a perfect example of a 2012 that shows wonderfully now but that's set to shut down in "about six months," after which it should be left alone for at least three to five years. - Josh Raynolds