Tasted from a new barrel, the 2018 Cote Rotie Rose Pourpre features mocha and plum notes. It's full-bodied, rich and velvety, with that weight offset by cool menthol notes, and the lengthy finish even seems refreshing as a result. I love the contrast in styles provided by Gaillard's two top bottlings of C?te R?tie.

The 2017 Cote Rotie Rose Pourpre is 100% Syrah drawn from the lieu dit of C?te-Rozier. The vines are adjacent to Guigal's La Landonne holdings, and there's a similarity in the dark, meaty, espresso-like notes, but this has a lighter, airier feel, despite being medium to full-bodied. Silky and long, it tails off into a mouthwatering array of black olives.

Green olives and pie cherries mark the nose of the 2016 Cote Rotie Rose Pourpre, which is drawn from the lieu-dit of C?te Rozier. It's medium-bodied, with tart, mouthwatering fruit and a silky finish.

Showing a touch more minerality and precision, the 2015 C?te R?tie Rose Pourpre is 100% Syrah that comes from the C?te Rozier lieu-dit and was aged in new barrels. Spring flowers, green herbs, black raspberries, plums and green herbs all emerge from this elegant, focused C?te R?tie that has fine tannin and notable purity. Give bottles 3-4 years and enjoy over the following 10-15 years.

Lastly, and easily the most serious of the trio, the 2013 C?te R?tie Rose Pourpre sports an inky purple color to go with serious minerality, lots of dark fruit, steel and smoked earth aromatics. Brought up in new oak, it’s medium to full-bodied, concentrated and nicely structured, with fine tannin kicking in on the finish. It will benefit from short-term cellaring and have 10-15 years or longevity.