One-third of the 2017 Condrieu sees new oak, while the rest goes into stainless steel. The wine remains very floral and fresh, with apricot and melon flavors joined by hints of white pepper and celery seed. Full-bodied, plump and succulent, it ends on a faintly bitter note that brings focus and length to the finish. Drink it young.
As my visit to Guigal came smack in the middle of harvest, I was only able to do an abbreviated tasting of about 30 wines. Tasting with the father-and-son team of Marcel and Philippe Guigal and joined by recent addition Jacques Desvernois (formerly at Jaboulet), we worked our way through all of the current releases in between sporadic loads of Côte Rôtie grapes arriving at the reception. On one occasion, while Philippe was dealing with a delivery, Marcel grabbed a pipette and we went to take an "unofficial" look at the 2015 La Las. As we only tasted from one barrel of each, I'm not updating my formal reviews from last year but will simply say that each of the barrels we tasted from were potentially perfect. When someone of Marcel's experience says 2015 is the best vintage he's ever seen in the Northern Rhône, would you expect anything different? Of the now-bottled 2014 La Las, Marcel said, "It's not a great year, but it needs time." While not up to the level of the 2015s, they're still impressive, and while they could all use a few years in the cellar, the La Mouline and La Turque are fairly approachable. Guigal's policy of giving their red wines extended élevage means they're often not yet on the market when new-vintage hype strikes. On the other hand, now that many 2015s from the Northern Rhône have already sold through, Guigal is a last chance for consumers to grab hold of some great examples at reasonable prices from Crozes-Hermitage and Saint-Joseph, and the Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde. Even the 2015 Côtes du Rhône release is a beauty. As Marcel pointed out, "For us, it's a grand vin, not a simple, fruity wine." New from the 2017 vintage is a white Châteauneuf-du-Pape, while notably missing from the lineup is a Hermitage Ex Voto from 2014, as it wasn't deemed worthy and was blended into the regular Hermitage.
Rating91
Guigal's 2018 Condrieu boasts aromas of orange blossoms, ripe apricot and grilled pineapple. Full-bodied without being oily or heavy, it showcases lovely Viognier varietal character, finishing long and silky. Like all vintages of Guigal's Condrieu, it should be consumed while young and vibrant.
Tasting at Guigal is always one of the highlights of my Northern Rhône trip. Because of the family's breadth of production and hallmark long élevage, it provides a chance to look at several vintages together, along with commentary from the knowledgeable patriarch, Marcel Guigal. This year, I was joined by Marcel, his son Philippe and Jacques Desvernois, hired away from Jaboulet in the summer of 2018, for a five-hour marathon in the chilly cellar beneath the company's headquarters in Ampuis. Despite the cool temperatures, there were smiles all around at the quality of the samples on the table. "Global warming has been fabulous for the Northern Rhône," said Marcel at one point.
It would be easy to overlook some of the lesser wines in the cellar and zoom straight to the single-vineyard Côte Rôties, but for readers on a budget, the company has plenty of good wine to offer, starting with the mammoth quantities produced of the basic Côtes du Rhône (4.5 million bottles of the 2016 rouge). From the north, the closest equivalent is the Crozes-Hermitage, but I favor the Saint-Joseph in most vintages for its more granitic expression of Syrah. The whites here (outside of Condrieu, where they are the largest producer) are often overlooked, but I believe the quality is improving. Philippe Guigal said they worked the lees of the whites sparingly in 2018 to avoid any heaviness. While the focus of my visit is on the north, Guigal produces several wines from the Southern Rhône, which were included in the tasting. Indeed, for a négociant, Guigal does a terrific job maintaining consistency in their Southern Rhône bottlings. Interestingly, although they now own a large property in Châteauneuf-du-Pape (Château de Nalys), sourcing for the négociant CdP remains completely separate. "We have two hemispheres in our brains," said Philippe. "Guigal and Nalys." The latest Nalys wines were reviewed previously, as part of my Châteauneuf-du-Pape coverage.
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