"23 years ago, I had stood in this same spot on the Cote Rotie with Marcel Guigal, looking over the vines clinging precariously to the slopes above Ampuis. That fiercely determined man was then establishing himself as the uncompromising champion of the Northern Rhone, and E. Guigal was beginning its rise to the giddy heights of world wine cultdom. Now, I was standing there with his son, Philippe, heir to vinous royalty...."
http://www.violentfermentation.blogspot.com
Guigal Condrieu 2007
No residual sugar, and at 14% abv getting to the limits of where Viognier should reside (according to moi, but maybe not according to global warming these days). The varietal typicity is there, and so is the regional typicity. A decent, well made bottle of Viognier.
Guigal Chateau La Doriane 2008
Fresh and lively and obviously newly in bottle, this is a definite step up. It’s one third barrel fermented, two thirds stainless steel fermented. Aggressively floral, creamy on the entrance, then chewy in the middle of the palate. Quite nice.
We’re in luck! Philippe informs us he has pulled three Cote Rotie wines, and they are all 2005 (yay), even though the La Turque is really nowhere close to being ready.
Bring it on!
Guigal Cote Rotie Brune et Blonde 2005
A blending of several different plots from both major slopes, this is pretty much the ‘basic’ Guigal Cote Rotie. Forward, light violets leap out of the glass, then obvious but not outrageous oak, then chewy in the middle. Like Pere Marcel and the AOC standard: loyal, local and consistent. A good reference of Cote Rotie.
Guigal Cote Rotie Chateau d’Ampuis 2005
38 months in oak, and it shows. A blend of seven vineyards, this is more dense, more compacted, with deeper tones of black fruit, toasty vanilla and caramel, a touch of char, and a gamy, meaty style.
Guigal Cote Rotie La Turque 2005
42 months in oak, and it shows in this wine---which, as Philippe promised, is not even close to knitting together as yet. It is heavy, heavy in smoky oak, deep, tightly bound, with roasted meats and dried flowers and herbs and hot brush the only things emerging from its careful confines. It would be fascinating to track the arc of this wine---although I realize that mortality being what it is, it will most certainly outlive and outlast me.