E. Guigal : La Turque 2018

Shows beautiful freshness, despite its age, weight and power, with red currant, mulled blackberry and floral notes floating atop earthy singed tobacco and toasty cedar elements. Just hitting its stride, matching exotic spices with smoke, minerality and a pleasingly dense texture. The lengthy finish reveals baker's chocolate and toasted herbs. Excellent. Drink now through 2039.

Dark violet. Deeply perfumed black and blue fruit aromas, along with suggestions of Moroccan spices, potpourri, olive and smoky minerals. Densely packed cassis, bitter cherry and violet pastille flavors show excellent definition and are underscored by a vein of juicy acidity. The mineral and floral notes repeat on a wonderfully long and subtly chewy finish that's shaped by dusty, steadily building tannins.

Dark in color, the wine opens with spicy, sharp red fruits, smoke, herbs, and an oceanic influence on the nose. It takes just the first sip to grasp the greatness of this wine. Full-bodied, powerful, intense, balanced, and lively on the palate, you feel the weight while sensing the energy as its layers of fruit coat your palate and linger. The wine captivates your attention for over 60 seconds. This is clearly a wow vintage for Guigal La Turque. The wine blends 7% Viognier along with 93% Syrah. Drink from 2032-2055.

In comparison to La Mouline, the 2018 Côte Rôtie La Turque shows a darker, more Côte Brune–like character (which is where this is from) in its broody black fruits, scorched earth, smoked meats, graphite, and exotic flowers. As with the other single vineyards in 2018, the purity of fruit is off the charts; it’s full-bodied, has incredible tannins, perfect balance, and a finish that won’t quit. It shows that classic 2018 ripeness with no sensation of weight or heaviness. It, too, has some up-front appeal but won’t hit maturity for another 7–8 years, if not a decade, and is a 30-year wine.

Tighter in its tannins than La Mouline, with darker fruit as well. On the palate, a dense chew and plenty of elegance for a wine with superlative freshness.