Côte-Rôtie & Condrieu 2024: An early drinking vintage

A delicate and charming vintage with fine tannins. Fresh and floral, it's not unripe but neither is it concentrated. It appears quite light from barrel, but if this takes on a little flesh, as I suspect it will, it will make for a beautiful Côte-Rôtie, just not a rich one. All parcels are individually very expressive, promising a detailed and precise style this year. Drinkable young but I would wait until 2032.

Smoky, dense and dark but lovely wealth of fruit. The most tannic and textural of Guigal's four 'La Las' this year. Clove spice, focused, direct, powerful and fresh, the tannins are particularly robust, will take time to integrate and are likely to always be quite chiselled. Great intensity and concentration but still has sharp cheekbones. To revisit again at the end of the élevage as it's reductive currently, but this is very promising. Whole-bunch fermented, from lieu-dit La Landonne. Tasted at the beginning of its 42 months in new French oak barriques.

Lovely concentration, length and density, showing more texture than La Turque this year. Full-bodied, fresh, expressive and balanced. Not as dark and bassy as the cave-like La Turque, and not as playful or aromatic as La Mouline, this is more naturalistic. 100% whole bunch but no automatic extraction like La Landonne. Will see 42 months in new oak barriques. The 1.5ha site in lieu-dit Fongeant was planted over the course of four years, the first plantation being in 2019.

Lovely nose: bright, expressive and detailed with star anise, flowers, tobacco and perfumed smoke. Fine, attractive and very Blonde in style. Light in body, good acidity, not long but very perfumed and aromatic with defined, precise and acidulated berry flavours. Elegant, you could drink this now despite the tannins being really quite present and a little crunchy but they're likely to round out with further élevage. Great purity, a classic, traditional vintage. Hard not to be won over, the fruit wins out over the oak. From lieu-dit Côte Blonde. Tasted at the beginning of its 42 months in new French oak barriques.

Blackberry, blackcurrant, mulberry and incense. Broad base, creamy, almost chocolatey on the palate, the acidity is only moderate, not as high as it can be in 2024, but it's well balanced. Tannins are broad, slightly croquant, and this has that schistous density on the palate. Classically proportioned Côte-Rôtie. Very young, so give this time. Situated on the Côte-Brune, planted by Marcel Guigal in 1980 – first vintage 1985 – after having been abandoned since 1935. La Turque is a central part of Côte Brune, its size is less than 1ha. Tasted at the beginning of its 42 months in new French oak barriques.

Fresh, lifted and aromatic, this has good concentration but remains light, brisk and energetic. Lovely acidity and balance with a mineral touch on the finish. A Côte-Rôtie of classicism and elegance. From lieu-dit Rozier on schist soils, 15-year-old vines, partly destemmed, aged in barriques and demi-muids with 15% new oak.

Star anise, sandalwood and cedar – lovely perfume and exceptionally fine tannins. Still needs time to swallow its oak, but it's looking very promising and possesses a lovely sense of finesse. No huge concentration, but there's enough and the balance is very good; this is great winemaking. Focused and engaging with tight tannins currently, and has enough freshness to last. A combination of lieux-dits La Côte Blonde and La Côte Brune. Fermented separately then blended.

Lovely nose of fresh green herbs, smoke and ash. Good sense of purity, the oak work is very much in the background and there's plenty of concentration and very fine tannins. Lovely balance and has the stuffing and substance to last. A vibrant, fine Côte-Rôtie with a long finish, from purchased fruit grown on schist, all destemmed, aged in one- to three-year-old demi-muids.

Herbal nose of bay leaf and olive. Fresh and brisk with surprisingly little obvious oak on the aromatics – the whole-bunch element is to the fore. Grippy, fibrous tannins on the finish from both whole bunch and oak, so give this time to settle if you're not a fan of chunky tannins, as will take time to harmonise, but it will be very good when it does. From the schistous lieu-dit Les Grandes Places, whole-bunch fermented, aged for 24 months in 400-litre new oak barrels.

Attractive nose of menthol and juniper, then a sense of softness and silkiness on the palate; it's very charming – Côte Brune did well this year in general. Soft, aerial, not concentrated or fleshy, but it speaks of the place and its floral nature. Fresh, delicate and precise, spends four weeks in tank, 18 months in oak, fermented with natural yeasts and as many stems as possible.

Gorgeous nose, very promising, showing notes of bay leaf, juniper and pink peppercorns. A fresh feeling on the harmonious, balanced, energetic and pure palate, with a lovely, silky texture. From lieux-dits Bourrier, Rozier, Fongeant and Janet, the 10- to 60-year-old vines grown on schist and loess soils, partly destemmed, aged in barriques and demi-muids with 10% new oak.

Raspberry and rosewater; light-bodied, fresh, vibrant and defined by high-toned spice and red fruit. Very Blonde – almost Burgundian – in style, good acidity, I would drink young for its vibrant aromatics. Destemmed fruit, aged in demi-muids for 24 months.