For such a precocious vintage, the 1982 La Landonne remains a backward, beefy, smoky, chewy mouthful of tannic wine. It has thrown a huge amount of sediment, and the bottle is completely stained, as if it were a 15-year-old vintage port. The wine reveals an olive, earthy, licorice, mineral, smoked-meat nose, fabulous depth, and a huge, formidably endowed personality. It is a monstrous, super concentrated wine that should reach its apogee by the turn of the century. Anticipated maturity: 2000-2025. Last tasted 12/95.

Maturity has given this a complex, earthy character of spice, coffee and prune flavors, sweet and firm. Drink now through 1998.--Guigal Cote-Rotie vertical. -TM