Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesIntriguing notes of earth, dried herb, blood and iron lend complexity to elegantly muted flavors of preserved plum and black cherry in this wine. It’s full bodied and rich but briskly balanced too, with a palate streaked with char, vanilla and spice. A gorgeously brooding expression of Côte-Rôtie, it finishes on fine, firm tannins. Beautiful already the wine will reveal greater perfume and complexity through 2035 and hold further still. Vintus LLC.
Showing similar to last year, the 2015 Côte Rôtie Brune Et Blonde is a beautiful, promising wine that has lots of cassis, graphite, and peppery herbs as well as a terrific floral character. It has closed down slightly on the palate, so do your best to give bottles another 3-4 years in the cellar. Rating: 92+
The Guigal domain was founded in 1946 by Etienne Guigal in the ancient village of Ampuis, home of the wines of the Côte-Rôtie. In these vineyards that are over 2400 years old, you can still see the small terraced walls characteristic of the Roman period. Etienne Guigal arrived in this region in 1923 at the age of 14. He made wine for over 67 vintages and, at the beginning of his career, participated in the development of the Vidal-Fleury establishment.
Despite his young age, Marcel Guigal took over from his father in 1961 when the latter was victim to a brutal illness rendering him blind. Marcel's hard work and perseverance enabled the Guigals to buy out Vidal-Fleury in 1984, although the establishment retains its own identity and commercial autonomy. In 2000, the Guigals purchased the Jean-Louis Grippat estate in Saint-Joseph and Hermitage, as well as the Domaine de Vallouit in Côte-Rôtie, Hermitage, Saint-Joseph and Crozes-Hermitage.
In the cellars of the Guigal estate in Ampuis, the northern appellations of the Rhône Valley are produced and aged. These are the appellations of Côte-Rôtie, Condrieu, Hermitage, Saint-Joseph and Crozes-Hermitage. The great appellations of the Southern Rhône, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, Tavel and Côtes-du-Rhône, are also aged in the Ampuis cellars.
