1988 Cote Rotie La Turque, Guigal

16 Oct 2011: Ruby-garnet. A very engaging perfume of blackberry, plum, mocha, leather, tobacco, camphor, hoi sin sauce, gamey and savoury, if marred by a whiff of volatility.  On the palate, the volatile acidity was a little more evident causing a slight off-balance to the taste and finish.  However, there was still more than a mere remnant of the majestic wine that merited the 100-point rating.  Behind the silky texture and mesmerizing perfume, it wasnn't too hard to find a vestige of the density, concentration and power that were once there.  Hugely disappointed, as I was so looking forward to trying this wine and it would have made the perfect accompaniment to Richard's slow-roasted shoulder of Welsh lamb and caramelised turnips!  Hopefully, this was just one slightly out-of-condition bottle.......while well-preserved bottles would still have some drinking window left! 17/20  

Côte Rôtie La Turque is made largely with Syrah grapes from the south-facing Côte Brune with some addition of Viognier (around 93% Syrah and 7% Viognier). The finesse and the strength of the wine is typically attributed to the mix of shale and iron oxide enriched clay soils on these sun-exposed slopes. The wine would spend 42 months in new oak before release.