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Conquistadores: The Reign in Spain - Friday, 9:00AM |
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(l
to r) Javier Muñoz, Eric Solomon, Philippe Camie, Adolfo Muñoz, Jurgen Wagner, and Daniel Castaño |
(Moderated
by Eric Solomon, this seminar gave us
look at how Spain may soon be dominating the world of Rhone wines.)
At the first seminar from the 2008 Hospice du Rhône, we learn that although Rhône varieties are grown nearly everywhere in the world, they seem to be taking off especially well in Spain. The panel consisted of a who's-who of the top winemakers in Spain, including Jurgen Wagner of Cellar Capçanes, Daniel Castaño of Bodegas Castaño and Bodegas Salinas, Javier Muñoz of Bodegas Cigarral Pago del Ama, and Frenchman Philippe Cambie of Bodegas Mas Alta as well as the consulting winemaker for many of the top wines in Chateauneuf du Pape, including Pegau and Vieux Donjon. And, just hanging out with everybody was Javier's father, chef Adolfo Muñoz of Toledo's Restaurant Adolfo.
| CONQUISTADORES: THE REIGN IN SPAIN :
2006
Celler Mas Gil, Clos d'Agon White - Emporda.
Nose of lemony peach and a hit of floral aromas. Delicious, slight waxy mouthfeel through mid-palate, with excellent balance and a nice finish and aftertaste. 45% Viognier, 40% Roussanne, 15% Marsanne.
2005
Celler de Capçanes Cabrida, Montsant. Rich nose of crushed dried flowers in the nose. Sense of sweetnes to the red fruit on the surface, with darker fruit underneath. Lovely texture on the palate, medium full body, slightly soft yet meaty finish.
2006
Celler de Capçanes Cabrida Calissa, Montsant.
Similar to above, but with more garrigue - including dried spices and dark olive. Big and rich on the palate, with a Cab-like body, bright acids and melt-away tannins, with a nice roasted sensation.
2005
Vinedos Cigarral Santa Maria, Pago del Ama Syrah
- Toledo. Slight floral aroma, with a healthy dose of India Ink. Mouthfilling center of dark fruit, very finely grained tannins, and very long sumptuous finish.
2005
Sierra Salinas Mira, Alicante. Somewhat bright nose of red raspberry, Herbes de Provence, and bittersweet chocolate. Dusty and toasty textures, with lovely sweet fruit, juicy acids, and a very nice floral quality to the flavors.
2005 Bodegas Castaño, Casa Cisca, Yecla. Similar in aromatic profile to the Mira above, but with decidedly more structure, as well as denser and darker. The rich flavors were off-sweet, and the wine is at this point more monolithic that the Mira.
2005
Bodegas Mas Alta, La Basseta, Priorat. Nose of dark fruit, pepper, and touch of bittersweet chocolate and licorice. As with most Priorat wines, this too has big structure. Very chewy palate, very full bodied, with what seemed like a touch of heat on the finish.
2005
Bodegas Mas Alta, La Creu Alta, Priorat. Similar to the Priorat above, but less tannic. Nice smoky quality throughout, with dried herbs and lavender. Bright uplifting mouthfeel, with mouthwatering acids and long finish. |
The moderator, Eric Solomon, is owner of European Cellars and is married to winemaker Daphne Glorian of Clos Erasmus in Priorat. He was also named “Person of the Year” at this year’s HdR - always a nice honor.
The tasting began with the Celler Mas Gil 2006 Clos d’Agon, then onto Jürgen Wagner who showed his Celler de Capçanes 2006 Cabrida and a nice 2006 Calissa. Interestingly, the cooperative he works for originally made a name for itself by creating kosher wine for Barcelona’s Jewish community. Adolfo Muñoz of restaurant Adolfo in Toledo, was able to show his own wine, the Viñedos Cigarral Santa María 2005 Pago del Ama Syrah, of which only three barrels were made.
The tasting seminar ended with two wines from Bodegas Mas Alta in Priorat. Consulting winemaker, Philippe Cambie, is one of the top enologists in the Southern Rhône, and has been behind many of the current crop of cult Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s. The Bodegas Mas Alta 2005 La Basseta and 2005 La Creu Alta are both Carignane-Grenache blends that come from organic vineyards
Created by Ramon Castano Santa and his 3 sons, Bodegas Castano is not nearly as old as the vines it owns. Starting quite small, the family has nurtured these old plantings and re-planted other parcels and now owns 350 hectares of some of the prime vineyard land in Yecla. Today, Daniel Castano, one of Ramon's sons, runs the winery with the help of other members of the family.
We found that Castaño might be the first winery to give Monastrell its deserved place in the wine world. Through the 1980s, they pioneered new vinification techniques in Yecla, which until then was mostly a bulk wine area. The family has a clear personal mission to make Monastrell one of the favorite wines in Spain and the world. Upgrading their wines through quality control, they struggled a bit to compete with better known Spanish varieties, But, Castaño managed to introduce the Monastrell into the export market as a single varietal, in addition to blended wines. Little by little they broke the bulk-wine image, showing its potential as a fruit-driven structured wine with its own attributes.
Castaño also started a joint venture in 2000 with the Swiss family Niehus, creating a wine called Mira, which is made from old Monastrell vineyards in the Sierra Salinas valley. Named after the mountain Sierra de Salinas that separates Yecla´s border from Alicante, they wanted to make a high quality wine for the international market, and the export success has spawned a new winery in Sierra Salinas. The estate lies at has moderate altitude and 35 hectares of vineyard. The decision to make Sierra Salinas an Alicante wine was to avoid competing directly with the wines from nearby Yecla. 90% of all monastrell in the area are old vines.
The Empordà (Costa Brava) wine region is situated in the province of Girona and covers an area of 2,000 hectares. The Empordà (Costa Brava) wine region consists of 39 vineyards (Bodegas), which produce 6.2 millon liter of wine annually.
Impressions:
Once again, Spain comes through with some of the most amazing wines.
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Booker and Jonata - California Startups
- Friday, 10:30AM |
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(l
to r) John Alban, Matt Dees, and Eric Jensen |
(Moderated
by John Alban, we
take a look at the wines from two "upstarts" in the Central Coast.)
Seminar 2 gave us a closer look at two relatively new Central Coast startups - one from paso Robles, and one from the Santa Ynez Valley, just north of Santa Barbara. While each of them grows some Syrah, both have very different goals and methods of achieving them. Obviousl, this makes the wines substantially different as well.
Jonata is a Santa Ynez Valley project had been very low profile from the outset, working originally with some code names that ended up evolving to its final name, Jonata Vineyards. The name Jonata (Ho-not-a) is a nod to Rancho San Carlos de Jonata, which was the original Spanish land grant from 1845. Matt Dees manages this Bordeaux varietal-based effort owned by Charles Banks and Stan Kroenke, the same people who also own Screaming Eagle. (Interestingly, it turns out the connection goes actually goes further than that, as SE's winemaker Andy Erickson previously worked for Staglin as winemaker before signing on with Banks and Kroenke to make the future vintages of Screaming Eagle. And guess who worked with Erickson at Staglin? Yep, Matt Dees.)
JONATA and BOOKER :
2004
La Sangre de Jonata Syrah - Santa Ynez Valley.
Nose of sweet ripe blackberry and blueberry, with licorice, roasted herb and black olive. Nicely ripened fruit in mouthfeel, with a fascinating taste of charcuterie and herbs coming through on the palate. Excellent balance and finish. About 5% whole cluster fermentation.
2005
La Sangre de Jonata Syrah - Santa Ynez Valley. Less effusive nose that the first wine, with a dense chewy mouthfeel, tons of fruit, and juicy acids. Smooth off-sweet finish. This wine seemed to have less sweetness to the fruit over the '04 version, and it is certainly at a slumbering place right now. Largely monolithic, it nevertheless shows some great potential - better than the '04 in my opinion. About 5% stems added.
2006
La Sangre de Jonata Syrah - Santa Ynez Valley. Interesting what the amount of time in the bottle does to a wine. While the '04 seems fairly wide awake, and the '05 at a point of slumber, this '06 is like a child who won't go down for its nap. The nose is beautifully floral with almost a co-fermented (Viognier) quality, along with a touch of bacon. Huge bright fruit, nice balance through the long finish.
2005
El Corazon de Jonata (Syrah blend) - Santa Ynez Valley. The previous dark fruit picks up something additional in this blend. Nose oflicorice, iodine, and grilled meat. Smooth tannins abound, leading to a long clinging finish. Interesting wine, as this turns out to be a kitchen sink blend of Syrah, Cab, Cab Franc, Petite Verdot, Merlot and...Sauv Blanc. Go figure.
2006
Booker Vineyard "The Ripper" - Paso Robles. Surprisingly reticent nose, but with some obvious raspberry peeking through. Nice concentration of fruit, smooth mouthfeel, very long finish with slight trace of heat. 90% Grenache, 10% Syrah.
2006
Booker Vineyard "Vertigo" - Paso Robles. Oddly, the 10% Grenache is immediately noticed here. Tasty, with definite grilled meat qualities, and a nice touch of toasted herbs on the long finish. 90% Syrah, 10% Grenache.
2006
Booker Vineyard "Fracture" - Paso Robles. Slightly bright throughout, with a sweet sensation initially. Juicy core of fruit, followed by a predominance of black fruit through the long finish. Flirtatiously sweet fruit here, but very tasty and finish and aftertaste. 100% Syrah. |
Jonata is located in the Ballard Canyon portion of Santa Ynez Valley, so a little bit about Ballard Canyon is probably in order here. Ballard Canyon Road extends from Buellton to Los Olivos, but it is the northern half of this road that bears a closer look. Well-known vineyards like Larner, Rusack, Stolpman, Purisima Mtn, and Tierra Alta are all located on the upper part of this road, nearer to Los Olivos than to Buellton. I recently rode along on a tour of four of the aforementioned vineyards (see). It seems obvious that this already well-known section may be destined for even bigger things with upcoming names like Harrison and Wilkening, and now Jonata.
The 586 acre Jonata property is literally a stone's throw from Steve Beckmen's Purisima Mtn Vnyd, and Matt acknowledged that Banks and Kroenke had made a major investment in the area.
They also grow Sangiovese. Although it's obviously not a Rhone Valley grape, I think people have wondered for years how and why growers have been fooling around with Sangiovese in the Santa Ynez Valley. I recalled from the Ballard Canyon tour, Jeff Newton proudly telling us that Alberto Antonini loved the local Sangiovese planted at Stolpman. And, as it turns out, this valley is ideally suited for not only Sangio, but other Italian varietals as well - just ask Steve Clifton, of Palmina winery, who has several varieties planted in Honea vineyard just east of here.
Here there is a patchwork of vineyard blocks - from large Sauvignon Blanc and Sangiovese sections, to much smaller blocks of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Verdot and Cabernet Franc, and finally to some really stressed vines he referred to as the "mini-blocks." The winds really rip through here, he mentioned. The vineyard comprises 80 acres, and the wines were big and tannic, with plenty of power.
Booker Vineyard is located on Paso Robles' Westside, immediately joining the famous Stephan Vineyards that produce L'Aventure Wines. The high-density vineyard is mostly Rhone varietals planted on steep hillsides of calcareous shale.
The name Booker comes from the two orphan brothers Claude and Dick Booker who had owned the land, as well as hundreds more acres on Paso's Westside. The Booker brothers were Paso's favorite sons, dedicating their lives to being great farmers and humanitarians. Aside from lending their farming knowledge and manual labor to neighbors and those in need, they were the area's biggest philanthropists, leaving 100% of their estate to charity when they passed.
After making wine with Justin Smith for five years and Stephan Asseo for two years the Jensens decided it was time to create their own expression with Booker Vineyard. The 2005 Vintage was Booker Vineyards first release with the wines being made by owner Eric Jensen. The wine making style is extremely soft and hands-off, attempting to let the fruit finish what it started seven months earlier. We rarely use a pump, never rack or filter, and use minimal sulphur.
Booker Vineyard wants to achieve farming perfection, and is constantly striving to find perfect balance in our vineyard, which means continuously being aware of new sustainable practices and methods. They are active members in the Central Coast Vineyard Team and are a fully sustainable vineyard, using no chemicals or pesticides in our daily farming. Their entire vineyard is on hillsides that are made up of pure calcareous shale, allowing for very little vine vigor. Other than large projects such as pruning and fruit thinning, Eric Jensen farms the entire vineyard alone, allowing total visual and physical control. Most of the Vineyard is on 7x3 spacing, averaging about 2.5 tons to the acre which is just over two pounds per plant.
Impressions:
fascinating look at headway that Rhone wines are still making on the Central Coast.
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Check Your Ideology at the Door - Saturday, 9:00AM |
(Moderated
by Jon Bonne, this seminar gave us a look at the
wines of Dave Poweel's Torbreck, and those of Louis Barruol of Chateau de Saint Cosme.)
If you think that France and Australia are worlds apart - you're right...but, only partially. It seems nothing could be further from the truth to expect that the wines from these two very divergent places to be similar, and yet they are - amazingly so. Torbreck Vintners was founded by David Powell in 1994. The roots go back to 1992 when Dave, who was then working at Rockford, began to discover and clean up a few sections of dry-grown old vines.
CHECK YOUR IDEOLOGY AT THE DOOR :
2005
Château St. Cosme - Condrieu. Nose of white peach and tropical fruit. On the palate, there is loads of viscosity, with bits of tropical fruits, lemon, lime and grapefruit peel, along wiht an unmistakable diesel-like quality. Juicy acids lead a nice elegant finish.
2005
Château St. Cosme - Gigondas. Dry, somewhat monolitiic and very structured, this mostly Grenache-based wine seems bent on not yielding much at this point.
2005
Torbreck "The Steading". Ripe nose - almost older in wine or fruit in its profile. Mouthfeel tastes "old vine" in origin, with ice balance and finish.
2004
Torbreck "The Pict". Dusty and tannic, this wine surprised me with its tightness and structure. Slightly bitter but juicy acids lift the mouthfeel here.
2005
Château St. Cosme "Valbelle". Dusty and funky nose. Deeper notes of floral and co-fermented qualities. A definite 'wow' mouthfeel, with fine-grained tannins and smooth textures. Though young, this is very tasty and meaty, with very nice balance and long finish.
2005
Château St. Cosme "Le Claux". Nose of minerals, orange zest, and Xmas spice. Rich mouthfeel, lovely fine-grained tannins, and smooth finish. What a knockout!
2005 Trobreck "Les Amis". Quite non-Aussie in nose, with less spice and more earthy notes. Lovely mouthfeel, sweet/sour touch of orange and citrus, with an excellent ripeness and acidity, and beautiful core of pure fruit.
2005
Château St. Cosme - Côte Rôtie. Unmistakable roasted meat and herb quality in the nose. Touch of noticable oak, but most of the aromas transfer through on the palate, with excellent balance and nicely graned tannins on the long finish.
2005
Torbreck "Descendant". Slightly sweet New World nose. Rich, if slightly sweet mouthfeel. God flavors and balance, but the overriding sweetness seems to creep through.
2004
Torbreck "RunRig". Similar to above, except less overt ripeness/sweetness in the nose. Almost raisiny, stewed strawberry flavor on the palate, with a sweet/sour core of fruit and orange blossom. |
Near lifeless, Dave nurtured them back to health and was rewarded with small parcels of fruit that he made into wine. Dave was able to secure a contract for the supply of grapes from a run-down but ancient Shiraz vineyard.
He managed to raise enough money to share-farm the vineyard, a practice which involves paying the owner a percentage of the market rate for his grapes in return for totally managing the vineyard. This share-farming principle has enabled Torbreck to use fruit from the very best vineyards in the Barossa Valley, which is home to some of the most precious old vines in the world.
In 1995 Dave crushed three tonnes of grapes and fermented them into wine in a shed on his 12-hectare Marananga property. He named his wine 'Torbreck' after a forest in Scotland where he worked as a lumberjack.
The Torbreck endeavour is based around the classic Barossa Valley varietals of Shiraz, Grenache and Mataro, and a love for the wines of France's Rhone Valley. Dave loves the intense, rich, Rhone-like flavours that come from old-vines and the fact that Shiraz and Grenache are the mainstay red grapes of the Northern and Southern Rhone often draws comparison.
Torbreck doesn't only make red wines , they have Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne planted on our winery block which we have blended to make a white wine for the last 2 years.
In July 2002 the historic Hillside property was acquired by Torbreck. Situated in Lyndoch, it is one of the original Barossa properties. Vast and picturesque it contains some magnificent old and ancient vineyards that will further our source of premium quality fruit. The Hillside property contains a wonderful native ecosystem that supports a myriad of flora and fauna. Dave hopes to turn it into a nature reserve in the future that will be open to visits.
In June 2003 at the finish of vintage, we opened our cellar-door for sales. An original settlers hut, it has been lovingly restored and provides a personal touch and some Barossa warmth whilst you taste our wines. It is open daily and we welcome any visits.
In the middle of 2008 a long term vision of Dave Powell's will reach completion. A new winery and administration facility will have been completed on land acquired from a next door neighbour. This will enable our grapes to be made into wine using the best availble equipment and then bottled 'on the estate' using our own bottling line.
Saint Cosme - located north to the village of Gigondas - is the most ancient estate in the region. Lying on the site of a Gallo-Roman villa which very probably already had its own vineyard, the estate's existence in 1416 is attested by a document mentioning the granting by Jean de Chalon, Price of Orange, of "land for the planting of vines on the Saint Cosme slopes." The Barruol's ancestors acquired it in 1570, and at the end of the sixteenth century built a splendid residence over existing cellars. The wines of Gigondas are muscular and robust. Kind of an old-school type wine if you will. Not concentrating on being high-tech, easy-drinking or smooth, this wine is an in-your-face red, daring the consumer to try it's spicy, leathery, soulful juice. Good producers are making wines able to age for up to 10 or 15 years, although if you like robust wines, you'll love them now too. Grenache is the main grape, making up to (but not to exceed) 80% of the wine, Syrah & Mourvedre make up the majority of the extra 20%, although some other Cote-du-Rhone varietals can be found in small amounts. Rosé is seen less in the export market, but make good, spicy, dry wines. Gigondas, this little village with its great name is situated in Upper Vaucluse at the foot of the Dentelles de Montmirail. This little village with only 700 inhabitants is an absolutely essential stop for lovers of this world renowned vintage. In Roman times the village was called "Jocunditas" which means joy or rejoicing...its famous vintage was already appreciated in those days. The region turned to single crop farming - wine-growing - following the great frosts of 1929 and 1956 which destroyed the ancient olive trees. The Gigondas "appellation d'origine" was requested as early as 1924, but was not granted until 1971.
Impressions:
I certainly made the erroneous assumption that all Aussie wines were alike, compounding it by also assuming that they would bear no resemblance to their French brethren. This was not always sthe case.
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The Wines of E. Guigal - Saturday, 10:30AM |
(Philippe Guigal is assisted
by his importer, Patrick Will of Ex Cellars, in this seminar which takes an in-depth look at the wines of E. Guigal.)
An in-depth look at the wines of Guigal would be excellent from any perspective. But having Philippe Guigal speak to these wines was a real treat. From the outset, we were aware of John Alban's early love for these wines, as we were able to see a photo of him visiting Etienne Guigal in France.
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THE WINES OF E. GUIGAL :
2006
E. Guigal Condrieu.
Floral, honeysuckle and hints of citrus peel in the nose. Slightly sweet and creamy mouthfeel, probably due to the malolactic fermentation. Gorgeous balance and finish. Delicious!
2006
E. Guigal "La Doriane".
Nose of white peach and unsweetened pineapple, with a faint scent of coffee. Less sweet in mouthfeel, with off-sweet honeyed flavors that create an instant party in your mouth. Very, very nice!
2006
E. Guigal St. Joseph Blanc "Lieu-Dit Le St. Joseph".
Smells just like a flower shop. Fascinating flavors of rose petals and stems, along with candied pineapple, charcuterie, and snow pea. Speachless!
2005
Ermitage Blanc "Ex Voto".
Well, 'wow' doesn't quite express it here. This is stupendous! Slight diesely nose of citrus fruits toast, dried pasta, and some indescribable waxy quality. Juicy, meaty, with almost a risotto-like flavor. Amazing!
2003
E. Guigal Côte Rôtie "Brune et Blonde de Guigal". Nose here is the classic scorched earth toasted manzanita scent along with the orange, red and black fruit. Lovely balance, with medium mouthfeel and long finish. Probably due to the year, but this is really more of a "claret" in style and weight.
2005 E. Guigal St. Joseph "Vignes de L'Hospice". Nose of licorice and blackberry, with a bright center. Toasted herb and grilled meats dominate the flavors, with excellent balane and long finish.
1998
E. Guigal Côte Rôtie "Chateau d'Ampuis". Somewhat musty nose, with blows off to reveal lovely black tarry fruit. A bit less profound at the core, but with lovely balance of acids and fruit throughout the long finish.
2004
E. Guigal Côte Rôtie "La Mouline". Less overt in roasted quality, but seems more complex with more tertiary qualities. Sweet/sour "wow" mouthfeel, with spicy acids, grilled meats and veggies. 11% co-fermented.
2004
E. Guigal Côte Rôtie "La Landonne". Slightly more roasted than the La Mouline, with touches of iodine and blood. More intense than the Mouline and absolutely killer!
2001
E. Guigal Ermitage Rouge "Ex Voto". Nose of iodine, blood, roast beet, black fruit and Worchestershire. Gorgeous taste and texture, slight licorice hit at center, perfectly balanced, sensuous long finish. Amazing! |
The Guigal family owns vineyards in Condrieu and in the Côte-Rôtie with illustrious plots producing wines such as ‘La Doriane’ in Condrieu, the famous growths of the Côte-Rôtie ‘La Mouline’, ‘La Turque’ and ‘La Landonne’, Côte-Rôtie Château d’Ampuis, Hermitage ‘Ex-Voto’, produced only in the great vintages and Saint-Joseph ‘Lieu-Dit Saint-Joseph’ in red and white, as well as the famous Saint-Joseph red « Vignes de l’Hospice ». These wines have each become flagships of their appellations.
In the cellars of the Guigal estate in Ampuis, the wines of 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; Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, Tavel and Côtes-du-Rhône are also aged in the Ampuis cellars.
The methods of viticulture are practised with total respect for the environment. Natural methods of combating parasites and disease ensure that the grapes cultivated in the domaine's vineyards fully express the complexity of the greatest terroirs of Condrieu and the Côte-Rôtie.
Thanks to the meticulous selection of the grapes and the application of the highest standards of quality in the winemaking process, the Condrieu and Côte-Rôtie Brune & Blonde wines of the Guigal estate have become flagships of these two prestigious appellations.
The vineyard of the Côte-Rôtie covers approximately 215 hectares comprising the Côte Brune, situated uphill from the Reynard stream and the Côte Blonde, which is situated below. These vines were originally planted over 24 centuries ago by the Romans. The Côte Brune, exclusively planted with Syrah vines, is recognisable by its virile vegetation. The Côte Blonde is more serenely feminine due to the inclusion of Viognier vines which add refinement to the Syrah. A sort of ‘fertile museum’, the yield from this vineyard is naturally limited.
In the Côte-Rôtie, the Guigal house owns several jewels including the Côte-Rôtie « La Mouline » situated on the Côte blonde, distinguished by its form which resembles a Roman amphitheatre. Situated on the Côte Brune, La Turque benefits from full Southern exposure and from a complex terroir made up of shale and iron oxide which lend finesse and strength to this wine. La Landonne is impressive with its breathtaking slopes of nearly 45 degrees. La Landonne is planted exclusively with Syrah. Last but not least, the Côte-Rôtie Château d’Ampuis is produced from ancient plots which are amongst some of the finest of the Domaine Guigal.
The Condrieu appellation covers about 100 hectares. Overhanging the right bank of the Rhône, this vineyard is planted exclusively with Viognier, a varietal imported from Dalmatia at the beginning of our era. La Doriane is one of the jewels of the Condrieu appellation. The Guigal estate also owns vineyards on illustrious plots with exceptional terroir in the appellations of Hermitage, Saint-Joseph and Crozes-Hermitage. On the famous hill of Hermitage, the Ex-Voto reds and whites, produced only in the greatest vintages, come from plots with evocative names such as Bessards, Hermite, Greffieux, Murets... a hand picked selection of grapes from these precious terroirs are blended to produce, as if by magic, THE great wine of a chosen vintage. In a mirror image, on the right bank of the Rhône, are the vineyards of the Saint-Joseph appellation the majority of which belonged previously to the Jean-Louis Grippat estate. The Lieu-Dit Saint-Joseph is planted mainly with old vines which produce classic red and white wines, true flagships of this up-and-coming appellation of the northern Côtes-du-Rhône.
Finally, the Saint-Joseph « Vignes de l’Hospice » is cultivated on this unique slope composed of granite where the vines are literally suspended on the breathtaking slopes which hang over the town of Tournon. This vineyard is a treasure producing precious and rare nectar. In total, the vineyards of the Guigal estate cover over 45 hectares.
Impressions:
simply amazing array of wines, with the Ex Voto leading the pack.
2008
HdR : Syrah Shootout
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