1999 Côte-Rôtie Vieilles Vignes

Just as there are a number of dynamic Burgundy negociants who offer fresher, stronger bottles than the growers from whom they purchase fruit or wine, Michel Tardieu makes Rhone Valley wines that often seem to transcend their appellations. He has produced a host of spectacular cuvees in 2000 and 1999. Tardieu, who recently purchased a climate-controlled facility in a new housing development in Lourmarin, is widely regarded as an astute selector of wine from top sources up and down the Rhone Valley, and his elevage is simply more sophisticated than that of most small domains. His range of 2000s closely tracks the vintage in that his wines from the South are denser and more powerful than those from the North. "Vintage 2000 required very strict selection in the North," Tardieu admitted, adding that although wines in the South reached very high alcohol levels, those made from young vines can lack flesh. But Tardieu works with a very high percentage of moderately old or downright ancient vines.