Domaine Rostaing : La Landonne 2022

Characteristics and tasting advice for La Landonne 2022 from Domaine Rostaing

Tasting

Appearance

The wine reveals a deep ruby color with plum highlights, extending to a delicate garnet rim.

Nose

The aromatic bouquet opens with intense notes of black fruits such as blackcurrant, wild blackberry, and black cherry. It is enriched with spicy hints of pepper and delicate violet aromas. With aeration, mineral nuances of smoke, warm earth, and graphite emerge, evolving into complex aromas of licorice, pure cocoa, and dried rose.

Palate

The attack on the palate surprises with its suppleness, revealing a broad and dense texture. The mid-palate is supported by firm and tightly knit tannins, typical of its terroir, yet perfectly ripe and refined. Remarkable freshness runs through the wine, leading to a finish of exceptional length marked by flavors of black fruits, spices, black olive, and warm stone.

Food and wine pairings

This red wine pairs beautifully with roasted feathered game such as pheasant or duck, as well as characterful dishes like lièvre à la royale. It will also enhance dry-aged rib steak, herb-crusted lamb, or richly flavored slow-cooked meats.

Serving and cellaring

For optimal tasting, it is recommended to serve La Landonne 2022 at a temperature of around 16°C (61°F), taking care to open or decant it one to three hours before serving. A wine built for aging, it can be enjoyed until around 2050.

The classic and mineral expression of a great Côte-Rôtie wine

The estate

Founded in 1971 by René Rostaing with just one and a half hectares of vines, the Domaine Rostaing has become a benchmark of the Rhône Valley. Thanks to the inheritance of historic parcels once owned by Albert Dervieux and Marius Gentaz, the estate has built an exceptional vineyard heritage. Today, the estate covers around twenty hectares and is managed by Pierre Rostaing, who took over in 2015. He continues with rigor the classical traditions and parcel-based approach that have shaped the estate’s international reputation.

The vineyard

Located on the steep slopes of the Côte-Rôtie appellation, the vineyard dedicated to this cuvée extends over 1.6 hectares within the prestigious lieu-dit La Landonne. The vines, aged between twenty and over seventy years, are rooted in extremely steep hillsides with gradients approaching 45 degrees. The terroir is composed of dark mica-schist, rich in iron oxides and manganese, providing natural drainage that encourages the roots to draw nutrients deep from the soil. The estate favors sustainable viticulture, with controlled yields and exclusively manual harvesting.

The vintage

The year 2022 was marked by particularly dry climatic conditions, standing out as the most arid vintage since 2011. After a late bud break, the vegetative cycle accelerated under the effect of heat, leading to an early harvest. Despite this water stress, which naturally reduced yields, cool nights helped preserve fine acidity, resulting in grapes of great concentration and optimal phenolic ripeness.

Winemaking and aging

After rigorous sorting, the grapes for La Landonne 2022 are vinified in a traditional manner with minimal intervention. Fermentations take place in stainless steel or concrete vats, naturally triggered by indigenous yeasts. Maceration lasts from seven to twenty days depending on the characteristics of the grapes. Aging then continues for eighteen to twenty-four months in French oak barrels of varying sizes (Burgundy pièces and demi-muids), with a very moderate proportion of 7% new oak in order to preserve the pure expression of the terroir.

Grape variety

100% Syrah