As long-time readers know, I have given a disproportionate number of perfect scores to Guigal's Cote Roties. And guess what? Guigal's current releases, the 1988s, all merit perfect scores. I thought they were potentially perfect from cask, and now that they are in the bottle I have to believe that they are Guigal's most successful wines since his 1978s. They are even richer than the extraordinary 1985s, and more concentrated than the magnificent 1983s. La Turque is the newest of the Guigal single vineyard wines. While like La Landonne, it is from the Cote Brune, its character represents a synthesis of La Mouline and La Landonne. The vineyard is on an extremely precipitous slope (a 60 degree gradient), but unlike La Mouline, it is not an old vineyard. The vines were only planted in 1981. La Turque may include 5-7% Viognier. Neither as tannic nor as muscular as La Landonne, it is frequently as concentrated. It can be as compelling as La Mouline. A wine of enormous richness and character, it can be drunk young but also possesses 20-25 years of longevity. Like La Mouline, it exhibits smoky, black-raspberry aromas, but there is always something more kinky, more expansive, and even sweeter about its taste. It is an impressively endowed, majestic wine. Based on the vintages produced since its debut in 1985, La Turque may be the most enthralling and complex of the single vineyard Guigal Cote Roties. The wine spends 42 months in new small oak casks and is bottled without fining or filtration. Guigal's Cote Roties, particularly the single vineyard wines, are exceptional wines. They offer extraordinary flavor intensity, impeccable purity, and awesome length and complexity. The yields from the three vineyards - La Mouline, La Landonne, and La Turque - rarely exceed two tons per acre. Moreover, no one harvests any later. That the wines spend nearly three and one-half years in 100% new oak tells you something about the level of extraction Guigal is able to achieve. While the oak is noticeable for 1-2 years after bottling, anyone who has tasted the 1985s, 1983s, 1982s, 1980s, or 1978s would be hard-pressed to find evidence of new oak. The level of fruit extraction in these wines literally soaks up the oak, making them all the more structured and complex. While all three wines share phenomenal concentration and marvelous perfumes, they could not be more different. Importer: Classic Wines, Boston, MA.

Exotic floral and spice notes add interest to the vanilla and plum flavors; the wine is vivid and rich but the dominant flavor is oak. Try in 1997.--Guigal Cote-Rotie vertical. 700 cases made. -TM