Rhone (Rhône)

• Châteauneuf-du-Pape
• Cornas
• Crozes-Hermitage
• Gigondas
• Hermitage
• Lirac
• Saint Joseph

This is 100% Syrah from older vines in the northern Rhone.  Guigal bought the vineyards from Jean-Louis Grippat upon his retirement: The granite based soil held in place by a series of terraces. The wine is fermented in stainless-steel tanks, followed by 30 months in new oak barrels.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with black raspberries, black cherries, black olives and spice.  Full bodied.   Medium tannins.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Ripe black raspberries, some black cherries with underlying char and spice.

This is the basic Saint Joseph from Guigal.  It is 100% Syrah.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is very nice with black raspberries, char, black olives, spice and black pepper.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, black raspberries, spice, and slight coffee grounds.  Delicious.  Nice finish.  A definite step up from the Crozes-Hermitage.  It drinks well on its own and will work very well with food.  Of course a burger, but this will work well with Indian food, too.  Drink over the next eight to ten years.  

This is 100% Syrah from the northern Rhone.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with black raspberries, smoke, slight gamey meat and black olives.  Medium to full bodied.  Light tannins.  Good balance.  Lovely jammy texture.  On the palate, loads of ripe black raspberries with some char and black pepper.  Long finish.  This is great on its own and will work well with foods.  Grilled meats would be a nice choice.  Drink over the next eight to ten years.  

This is a blend of 70% old Grenache, 15% Mourvèdre, 10% Syrah, 5% other allowed grapes.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright.  It was interesting to drink this side by side with the Gigondas.  The CdP is a much bigger and more complex wine (and more expensive).  The nose has black cherries, cherries, spice, smoke and black pepper.  Medium to full bodied.  Good balance.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Open and drinking well but with depth and complexity.  Flavors of black cherries, plums and spice with light tannins.  This is drinking well on its own and will work well wi

This is a blend of 70% Grenache, 20 % Syrah, and 10% Mourvèdre.  In many ways, Gigondas has been thought of as Chateauneuf du Pape's little brother and for Guigal, that is an apt comparison.  Drunk side by side, this seemed lighter and easier although similar.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright.  The nose has black cherries and spice and a hint of anise.  Medium bodied.  Good acidity.  On the palate, black cherries and cherry fruit with a bit of spice on the finish.  Nice finish.  This will work better with food that on its own.  Cassoulet is a classic match.  Drink over t

The Guigal Cotes du Rhone is consistently one of the best values in wine.  This is the red, but they also make white and rose.  It is  a blend of 50% Syrah, 40% Grenache, and 10% Mourvèdre.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is dusty, slight earthiness with black cherries and black raspberries.  Medium to full bodied.  Very tasty.  Nice texture.  This drinks easy but it also has some stuffing.  On the palate, light tannins with black raspberries and black cherries.  Well balanced.  Amazingly, they make 4.5 million bottles of this wine and keep the quality

This is the basic Condrieu (they also make a higher end called La Doriane).  It is made from 100% Viognier grapes.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with floral qualities along with some vanilla and spice.  With air, apricots emerge along with a bit of peach.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, the apricots and spice come thru.  A bit of a bitter ginger note on the finish.  This needs a bit of cellaring, maybe two or three years, and then should drink well for five to eight more years.  Very nice on its own, this will work better with food.  Shellfish would be a nice

A very nice northern Rhone white, perhaps a bit lighter in style, but in a good way. It is a blend of 95% Marsanne, and 5% Roussanne.  Light yellow/gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with vanilla, peach, pears and spice.  Medium bodied.  Crisp acidity.  On the palate, tangerine with slight lemon peel and the oak/spice continues thru to the finish.  A bit of grapefruit on the finish as well.  This is very nice on its own but even better with food.  It went well with a vegetarian cassoulet.  Drink over the next three to five years.  

Young, but a wonderful Cote Rotie.  Purple in color, slim ruby rim, opaque and bright.  The nose has black cherries and black raspberries, black olive and black pepper with a bit of smoke, Full bodied.  On the palate, black raspberries, black raspberries and black pepper.  Medium tannins.  Deep but primary.  This needs a five to ten more years of good cellaring. Drink for twenty after that.  If drinking soon, it should be with food.  Cassoulet is the choice.  

This is from the northernmost AOC in the southern Rhone Valley in France.  It is a blend of 65% Grenache and 35% Syrah.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black cherries and black raspberries with spice and slight floral note.  Full bodied.  Nice balance.  On the palate, lots of deep black cherry fruit.  A bit chunky in a rustic sort of way.  Good finish.  This is a nice value wine that will work well with a pizza or or burger.  Drink over the next few years.