Guigal Saint-Joseph Lieu-Dit Rouge 2014
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Wine & Spirits
From the lieu-dit that gave the St-Joseph appellation its name, this is an opulent, showy white. It starts off smoky and spicy, wearing a cloak of oak after six months in barrels, half new. What’s impressive is how the fruit and minerality emerge, lemon cream richness playing off granite minerality with an electric insistence. It lasts, the wine still very much alive after five days open, suggesting that this will age well in the cellar over the next decade.
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Wine Spectator
A toasted style, with a prominent singed vanilla note draped over a core of ripe and inviting flavors of cassis and cherry preserves. Picks up more anise, black tea and juniper accents through the finish, staying fleshy and polished in feel. Very solid. Drink now through 2026.
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James Suckling
Tasted just after blending and before bottling (Nov 2016 release). This has a complex, spicy nose featuring plenty of mocha and spices. It's expressive, very open, and shows a wealth of ripe, dark plums. Delicious chocolate and dark-toasted spices. The tannins, meanwhile, are very succulent and build nicely towards a good, energetic finish. Great wine. Good balance.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Scheduled to be bottled just after my visit, the 2014 St Joseph Lieu Dit St Joseph is a solid step up over the classic St Joseph cuvee and possesses a more rounded and sexy style, as well as terrific notes of black raspberries, mulled black currants, cured meats and toasted spices. This medium to full-bodied effort has good mid-palate density and sweet tannin, all pointing to it evolving gracefully for a decade. Range: 90-92
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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.”
Spanning the longest stretch of river in the northern Rhône—from Condrieu in the north, to Cornas in the south—the heart of St.-Joseph lies directly across the Rhône River from Hermitage. While its soils are basically the same as Hermitage: granite, supplemented by sand and gravel, its east facing slope receives less sunlight than Hermitage, which causes less overall berry ripening on its Syrah vines. However, some of the best of them can rival any fine expression of Hermitage, Cote-Rotie or Cornas with concentrated black fruits, dark spices, crushed rock and violets. A general advantage of the region is that its Syrahs typically don’t need as much time in the bottle compared to a Cote-Rotie or Hermitage and are much easier on the bank account!
A textbook St.-Joseph red is firm with a core of minerality that is enhanced by savory and peppery qualities. Aromas and flavors of smoke, olives, herbs, and violets are common; its wines are dense in red and black fruit.
St.-Joseph is also a source of fine northern Rhône white wine. Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne grow well here and can be blended or made into single varietal wines. St.-Joseph whites are full and silky with citrus, pear and pineapple flavors and a rich bouquet reminiscent of honeysuckle, toasted nuts, spice and caramel.