Stéphane Ogier La Belle Hélène Côte-Rôtie 2010

Only 3 CASES in stock! Stéphane Ogier's La Belle Hélène is about as rarefied as Côte-Rôtie gets! The Ogier family spent generations selling their fruit to négociants, and it wasn't really until Stéphane joined the family estate in the late 1990s, followed by a full cellar renovation and a raft of new cuvées in the early 2000s, that the domaine climbed into the front rank of the appellation. Belle Hélène is his flagship, taken from a tiny half-hectare parcel of near-century-old Syrah on the Côte Rozier, with production capped at roughly 150 to 200 cases a year.

The 2010 is widely regarded as a high-water mark – and BOTH Wine Advocate and Jeb Dunnuck handed it a pristine 100 points, and at least one collector called it the finest Belle Hélène ever made. Part of what makes the vintage distinctive is a stylistic shift. Ogier trimmed the barrel aging from 32 months in mostly new oak down to 18, a nod to his willingness to adapt his hand to the fruit rather than impose a house recipe.

Get ready for a dark, brooding, almost opaque purple-black wine, where the old Syrah vines really announce themselves in the nose with a savory mineral core of graphite and iron-tinged ink, wrapped in crème de cassis and dark blueberry. Smoky earth, licorice, crushed violets, and a cool lift of menthol and forest floor thread through it all, lending a sort of ethereal grace to the whole thing. On the palate it's deeply concentrated, yet somehow fresh and light-footed, with polished tannins and vibrantly humming acidity. The finish is terrifically layered and slow to fade, and I’m convinced it’s got at least another 15-20 years of life it can still give in the cellar. This is a true sensation – and our price is just as staggering! DOUBLE 100 points, and not many to share! Go ahead and make your day extra-fabulous with at least one of these rare beauties.