Guigal
Few names carry as much weight in the Rhône Valley as ‘Guigal’. Starting from scratch in 1946, three generations of the same family transformed a small estate in Ampuis into the benchmark for Côte-Rôtie and the valley’s most award-winning producer and, in the process, restored an appellation that had been virtually abandoned in the mid-20th century to the forefront of French winemaking.
This estate is both the owner of some of the most sought-after plots in the Northern Rhône and the region’s leading wine merchant, a combination that allows it to bottle everything from everyday ‘Côte du Rhône’ to three ‘Côte-Rôtie’ cuvées from a single vineyard, which collectors refer to as ‘La Las’.
History
The Guigal estate was founded in 1946 by Étienne Guigal in the small village of Ampuis, situated in the Northern Rhône region. Étienne arrived in Ampuis in the early 1920s, when he was just fourteen years old, and took up a position at ‘Vidal-Fleurie’, a historic estate in Côte-Rotie, founded in 1781 and at that time the most prestigious producer in the appellation. He worked there for around fifteen years, contributing to the development of the business, and then in 1946, immediately after the war, he established his own estate under his own name: E. Guigal. Until his death in 1988, he produced 67 vintages in Côte-Rôtie.
The generational handover came suddenly. In 1961, Étienne fell ill, resulting in him becoming completely blind, and management of the estate passed to his son Marcel, who was then just seventeen years old. Marcel’s hard work and perseverance transformed the company. In the early to mid-1980s, the critic Robert Parker discovered Guigal’s finest Côte-Rôtie wines and showered them with praise, which directly contributed to strengthening the appellation’s reputation worldwide. In 2006, Marcel was named ‘Man of the Year’ by *Decanter* magazine for his contribution to the development of the Rhône region.
The estate expanded thanks to a series of landmark acquisitions. In 1984, the most symbolic deal took place: Guigal bought Vidal-Fleurie, the very company that had launched Étienne’s career, and continues to run it as a separate enterprise with its own identity. This was followed in 1995 by the acquisition of Château d’Ampeu, which has since become the family’s headquarters, and in 2001 by the domains of Jean-Louis Gripp and de Valois, which brought with them vineyards on the Hermitage hill, making the creation of the Ex-Voto wine possible. In 2006, the Domaine de Boncerin joined the portfolio. Today, the company is run by Marcel alongside a representative of the third generation: his son Philippe Guigal, born in 1975, who became an oenologist and chief winemaker in 1997 at the age of 22.
Vineyards
Guigal owns approximately 45 hectares of vineyards, around half of which are located in Côte-Rôtie, a region widely regarded as the finest within this appellation, whilst the remaining plots are situated in Condrieu, Saint-Joseph, Hermitage and Crozes-Hermitage. All wines bearing the company’s own label are produced exclusively from grapes grown on these plots.
In addition, the company is a leading wine merchant in the Rhône Valley, sourcing grapes and wine from across the length of the valley. The company accounts for around 40 per cent of all Côte-Rôtie wine produced, approximately 45 per cent of Condrieu appellation wine, and its total annual production stands at around seven million bottles. In 2017, the family took its first step southwards by acquiring Château de Nalys in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and in May 2022, Château d’Aquéria, an estate covering almost 100 hectares in Tavel and Lirac.
Terroir
The name ‘Côte-Rôtie’ translates as ‘roasted slope’, an accurate description of the steep terraces rising from the right bank of the Rhône. The vineyards face east and south-east, allowing them to receive sunlight from early morning, whilst the granite walls and stone terraces accumulate heat and radiate it back onto the vines, this is the defining characteristic of this appellation, and the reason why the Syrah variety can ripen fully in a plot situated so far to the north.
The appellation is divided into two parts with different soil profiles. Côte Blonde is situated on granite and gneiss with lighter, sandy, siliceous topsoil; Côte Brune lies on shale with a significant iron oxide content, which gives it both its darker colour and its name. This contrast is directly reflected in the glass: Côte Blonde wines tend towards floral, aromatic and approachable notes, whilst Côte Brune wines lean towards darker, denser and more structured profiles. Guigal’s estates span both sections, which is why the estate’s flagship wine is called ‘Brune et Blonde’, and this is precisely why the ‘La Mouline’ (Blonde) and ‘La Landonne’ (Brune) wines taste like two sides of the same slope.
Grape varieties
The foundation of Côte-Rôtie is the Syrah variety, almost always with a small addition of Viognier, with which it is co-fermented, Guigal uses around 4% in his ‘Brun’ and ‘Blond’ wines to lend the tannins softness and roundness. In ‘La Mouline’, this percentage rises to around 11%, making it the most aromatic of the three single-vineyard wines. ‘La Landonne’, by contrast, is a pure Syrah.
Winemaking and wines
Guigal practises late harvesting in order to achieve full phenolic ripeness and is usually one of the last to begin the harvest in this appellation. Fermentation takes place in closed stainless-steel tanks with automatic cap submersion and temperature control: for the ‘Brune et Blonde’ wine, the time spent on the skins averages three weeks, whilst for ‘Château d’Ampuis’ and single-vineyard wines, it can be up to four weeks.
However, the real difference lies in what happens next. ‘Brune et Blonde’ is aged for 38 months in oak barrels, half of which are new; this ageing period exceeds that of virtually all other producers in this appellation and is the subject of considerable debate. The ‘Château d’Ampuis’ wine, made from grapes from seven plots situated on both slopes, is aged for the same duration, 38 months, but exclusively in new barrels.
The three Côte-Rothi wines from single vineyards represent the pinnacle of craftsmanship: ‘La Mouline’ from Côte-Blonde, first bottled in 1966; ‘La Landonne’ from Côte Brune, since 1978; and ‘La Turque’, also from Côte Brune, since 1985. Collectively, these wines have received more 100-point ratings from Robert Parker than any other producer in the world. The three single-varietal wines undergo the most meticulous treatment: up to 42 months in 100 per cent new French oak barrels, without fining or filtration.
All these barrels are made on site in Guigal’s own cooperage, established in 2003 on the grounds of Château d’Ampeu, where the staves are assembled and toasted in accordance with the estate’s specifications. Very few wineries in the world have their own cooperage, and this allows Gigal to control an element that most producers simply have to purchase.
In addition to Côte-Rôtie, two blends from the estate’s own vineyards stand out in particular. ‘Hermitage “Ex-Voto”’ is produced from grapes grown on four plots owned by Guigal on the Hermitage hill, Le Bessard, Le Gréffier, Le Mure and L’Ermit, with a total area of around 2.2 hectares, acquired as part of the vineyard purchases from Gripp and de Valluy. It made its debut with the 2001 vintage and is produced in both red (Syrah) and white (Marsan and Roussan) versions, but only in exceptional years and only when it clearly surpasses the estate’s standard Hermitage. Production amounts to around 600 cases when it is released.
Also from Condrieu comes ‘La Doriane’, a single-varietal wine made from Viognier, crafted from grapes grown on three plots, Côte-Châtillon, Colombier and Coteau-de-Chery, first released in 1994. It is positioned above the estate’s standard Condrieu, and in some vintages is joined by the sweet Condrieu ‘Luminescence’.
