Côte-Rôtie Côtes Brune et Blonde Guigal 2010

Lot presentation

Côte-Rôtie Côtes Brune et Blonde Guigal 2010

The wine

The vineyard of Saint-Joseph and its "vin de Mauves" was famous in the 19th century until the tsar empire. Two sites were already legendary: the hillside of Saint-Epine and the hillside of Saint-Joseph, the current location of a plot belonging to Maison Chapoutier."Les Granits" is a 100% Syrah cuvée, made from the oldest stock of this variety, on poor and stony granite soils. The grapes are harvested by hand at very high maturity and then ferment slowly in small concrete vats. The wine is then aged in barrels for 14 to 18 months, in new containers or those which have been used for one or two wines. The Maison will only use free run wine during the process. With its beautiful deep garnet colour, Les Granits is refined and elegant, marked by candied notes (ripe black fruit) and roasting. On the palate, smoky and peppery notes emerge with aromas of liquorice on the finish. This wine is characterised by very good balance, taut tannins and it lingers remarkably well.

Located in Ampuis, the heart of the Côte-Rôtie, Domaine Guigal was founded in 1946 by Etienne Guigal who arrived in the region in 1923 at the age of 14. Guigal has contributed enormously to putting this appellation on the map. In 1961, the young Marcel Guigal left school and took over the reins when his father was struck by sudden loss of vision. Driven by a desire to produce high quality wines, the young vigneron undeniably changed the perception of Côte-Rôtie wines. Nowadays, the brilliant oenologist Philippe Guigal – Marcel's son – is the third generation to run the estate, alongside his wife Eve.
The vineyard now also runs over to the Rhone valley's prestigious appellations of Côte-Rôtie, Condrieu, Saint-Joseph, Hermitage, Gigondas, Crozes-Hermitage. They are all vinified and matured in the cellars of Ampuis. Philippe and Eve continue to devote considerable care to all of the winemaking process: sustainable pest management (HVE-certified), entirely manual labour due to the steep slopes of the vineyards, vinification in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats, and ageing in new oak barrels for up to 42 months. The house produces three cuvées “prestige” - La Landonne, La Mouline et La Turque – a sublime trilogy which wine connoisseurs go mad for.
The headquarters of the estate is the Château d'Ampuis, a jewel of the Renaissance which is listed as a Historic Monument. The Guigal signature is one of the most emblematic of the Rhone Valley, it shines for its infallible constancy and rigorous grape production.