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E. Guigal

Saint-Joseph Lieu Dit Rouge 2016

Saint-Joseph

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A result of its quality, Guigal’s Saint-Joseph Lieu Dit Rouge comes from the “Saint-Joseph” vineyard that gives the appellation its name. This site convinced the Guigals to work in Saint-Joseph and help to restore the historic perception of Saint-Joseph as an appellation of utmost quality. The 100% Syrah wine has complex and deep black fruit, floral, spice and mineral characteristics. Despite its concentration and powerful attack, the wine retains the trademark elegance that Saint-Joseph offers.

VINEYARD

Guigal’s Saint-Joseph Lieu Dit comes from the vineyard that gives the appellation its name, and is one of the finest sites in the Northern Rhone Valley. Guigal owns the majority of this parcel, with 14 acres in total, 60% of which is planted to red grapes and 40% to white grapes. The vines are from 20 to 75 years of age, planted on steep slopes of gneiss with streaks of granite.

Yields are incredibly low for this 100% Syrah wine, harvesting 1.8 tons per acre on average.

WINEMAKING

Fermentation is carried out at high, controlled temperatures and aged in 50% new oak and 50% first year barrels.

VINTAGE

Following the outstanding 2015 vintage, 2016 did not disappoint in the Northern Rhône. It is a brilliant expression of the terroir, and wonderfully elegant even in their youth with great intensity and ripe fruit flavors. A late spring was followed by hot weather from July through September, which promoted ripening. An Indian Summer through October ensured full maturation of fruit.

TASTING NOTE

Deep red in color. Complex with dominant black fruit and delicate oak aromas. A pure and intense nose. A powerful attack on the pallet with round and elegant tannins. Overall, a veritable success. Fresh and powerful. Will become more refined with age.

Color

Red

Appellation

Saint-Joseph

Farming

Guigal uses only environmentally sustainable methods of pest, disease and weed control. They work to conserve biological diversity, water resources, soils and ecosystems on their land. Packaging materials are recyclable or biodegradable. Lastly, they are committed to achieving a zero waste target.

Suggested Retail Price

$75

Reviews

94

"Sweet, seamless and expansive"

Vinous - September 30, 2019 “Bright purple. Powerful black/blue fruit, incense, exotic spice, olive and peony scents show excellent clarity and pick up a smoky mineral note as the wine stretches out. Sweet, seamless and expansive on the palate, offering deeply concentrated blueberry, cherry liqueur, olive, smoky bacon and spicecake flavors that are supported by a spine of juicy acidity.”

94

"Smooth and supple fruit"

James Suckling - October 30, 2019 "A bold, brassy nose with so much licorice, graphite and cedary oak, linked by red plums and blueberries. The palate has a band of ripe, smooth and supple fruit with such silky tannins, building long and even. Really holds in a long, elegant way."

94

"Polished and focused, will have fans for sure"

Wine Spectator - January 16, 2020 "Warm in feel, with a velvety display of enticing plum sauce and cherry preserve notes that meld with ganache, melted licorice and mesquite flavors through the slightly exotic finish. Stays polished and focused. Will have fans for sure."

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Saint-Joseph Lieu Dit Rouge Bottle Shot

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Saint-Joseph

Guigal’s Vignes de l’Hospice is one of the finest sites in the Northern Rhone Valley. This steeply terraced vineyard used to be divided into three, but Guigal now owns majority of this parcel in order to restore perception of Saint-Joseph as an appellation of utmost quality. In fact, Guigal is often asked when they will produce a fourth “LaLa,” and their response is that their fourth single vineyard phenomenon of the Northern Rhone is already being produced: the Vignes de l’Hospice.

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Côte-Rôtie

One of the three “LaLa” wines that Guigal produces and are the most collectible wines of the Rhone Valley, La Landonne is a remarkable expression of terroir. And for good reason, La Landonne is situated on one of the steepest vineyards of the Côte Brune, a 45 degree slope that remarkably requires harvesters to start picking from the bottom of the vineyard and work their way up, placing grape bunches in bins that are set on sleds and dragged up the hill. Along with its position at the northern end of the Côte Brune and the fact it is the last vineyard to ripen, La Landonne is the mirror of the feminine and voluptuous La Mouline: it is a wine of driving power, defined by its dark fruit and structure. The first vintage Guigal produced was in 1978, after being planted in 1975 at the time of Philippe Guigal’s birth.

Côte-Rôtie La Turque

Côte-Rôtie

Of the three famous single-vineyard “LaLas” that Guigal produces and are the most collectible wines of the Rhone Valley, La Turque is the newest. This vineyard produced outstanding wines in the first half of the 20th century, but then was not used for wine production for nearly 50 years. The Guigals acquired the vineyard and re-planted it in 1980 and 1981, based on Etienne Guigal’s memory of the quality of the wines it once produced. The first vintage appeared in 1985. In both position and style, it sits between La Mouline and La Landonne: the complex soils lend an exotic character to La Turque, and its concentration and elegance exhibit the virility of the Côte Brune with the subtlety and femininity of the Côte Blonde.

Côte-Rôtie La Mouline

Côte-Rôtie

First planted by the Romans 2,500 years ago, La Mouline is the oldest and most famous vineyard of Cote-Rotie, and Guigal’s single vineyard bottling of La Mouline in the 1960s set off a quality revolution throughout the Rhone Valley. The stunning amphitheater is the most complex plot in Cote-Rotie due to its extremely steep slopes with expositions in every direction. Of the three famous “LaLas” that Guigal produces and are the most collectible wines of the Rhone Valley, La Mouline was the first and is the only one on the Cote Blonde, and its signature is an unbelievable exoticism, an irresistibly and unique lifted floral, black fruit, earthy, spicy perfume, its coiled power always in balance, seemingly endless.

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Ermitage Ex-Voto represents the fulfillment of a longtime dream of Marcel Guigal’s to own vineyard land on the hill of Hermitage. Through the purchase of the de Vallouit and J. L. Grippat domaines in 2000, Guigal acquired four exceptional vineyard parcels on this legendary site. The 2001 vintage was the first release of this estate-bottled Hermitage red and white. The quality of the intense old-vine fruit is quite special, but given the Guigal’s already strong work in Hermitage, they decided to only release an Ex-Voto red or white when the wine is utterly exceptional and clearly superior to their appellation bottlings.

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Hermitage

Ermitage Ex-Voto represents the fulfillment of a longtime dream of Marcel Guigal’s to own vineyard land on the hill of Hermitage. Through the purchase of the de Vallouit and J. L. Grippat domaines in 2000, Guigal acquired four exceptional vineyard parcels on this legendary site. The 2001 vintage was the first release of this estate-bottled Hermitage red and white. The quality of the intense old-vine fruit is quite special, but given the Guigal’s already strong work in Hermitage, they decided to only release an Ex-Voto red or white when the wine is utterly exceptional and clearly superior to their appellation bottlings.

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc

Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Guigal produces an intensely concentrated, inviting and complex Châteauneuf-du-Pape that is almost unique to the region today. Their passion for Châteauneuf, the leading appellation of the Southern Rhône, runs as deeply as that for their home sites in the Northern Rhône. The combination of working with top fruit that has perfect ripeness, along with their extraordinary patience in the cellar, results in rich and full, yet savory, spicy, seamless and balanced wines. Wines to enjoy immediately but capable of aging, and, above all, wines that leave you wanting more.

Hermitage Blanc

Hermitage

Whites make up a small percentage of production in the Rhône, under 2%, but white wines are a little bit of a secret specialty at Guigal and today comprise 25% of their production. And for good reason, as the whites of the Northern Rhône are true discovery wines, immensely appealing and complex. They specifically display an expressiveness and brightness while also capturing the warmth of the area. Even more of a discovery is Hermitage Blanc, one of the least-known yet most intriguing wines of the Rhône Valley and in the small 309 acre Hermitage AOC.

Hermitage

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Hermitage is one of France’s most spectacular and famous appellations, producing small quantities of extraordinarily intense and ageworthy red wine and tiny amounts of dry white. The entire vineyard consists of 309 acres planted on a single granite hillside on the banks of the Rhône. The Hermitage Rouge is the example of a racy wine, that manages to remain seductive.

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