Guigal Crozes Hermitage 2013
-
Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
There's the trademark Guigal toasty oak overlay adding praline and toffee notes to brambly dark berries and plum fruit aromas. The palate delivers vibrant, spicy and creamy red plum fruits. Approachable, sweet tannins.
-
Wine Spectator
This has a solid core of dark plum and raspberry fruit, lined with lightly tarry tannins and driving through a licorice- and tobacco-edged finish. A textbook example of Crozes. Drink now through 2019. 3,000 cases imported.
Other Vintages
2020-
Spectator
Wine -
Suckling
James -
Dunnuck
Jeb
-
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Parker
Robert
-
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Parker
Robert -
Suckling
James
-
Spirits
Wine & -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Parker
Robert
-
Suckling
James
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spirits
Wine & -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Parker
Robert
-
Suckling
James
-
Spirits
Wine &
-
Spirits
Wine &
-
Parker
Robert -
Spirits
Wine &
-
Spirits
Wine &
-
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Spirits
Wine &
-
Parker
Robert -
Spirits
Wine &
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.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
Crozes-Hermitage is Northern Rhone’s largest appellation, surrounding the steep granite faces of Hermitage to its north and south. Here the rolling vineyards are less extreme and its soils, rich in clay-limestone and alluvial matter, produce Syrahs that range from fruity and charming to lush and seductive. The Syrahs of Crozes-Hermitage have more mass than those from St. Joseph but are less intense than those from Hermitage. While many are intended for early consumption, some of the best Syrahs from Crozes-Hermitage will age beautifully for 5-10 years.
Up to 15% of white grapes may theoretically be added to red Crozes at the time of fermentation but whether this is done or not depends on the decision of the winemaker. The best Crozes-Hermitage Syrahs will be fleshy with black fruit (currant, blackberry and black cherry) and bay leaf qualities, notes of tar and stone, and a well-concentrated finish of smooth tannins.
About a tenth of the wine produced in Crozes-Hermitage is white, primarily composed of Marsanne supplemented by smaller amounts of Roussanne.