Description
E. Guigal, Côte-Rôtie “La Turque”
You knew it was coming. I mean, we couldn’t offer two top vintages of Guigal’s “Château d’Ampuis” without addressing the three elephants in the room: La Turque, La Mouline, and La Landonne. Having received no less than two dozen perfect reviews, these culty, single-vineyard “La La” rarities have become among the world’s most desirable and highly praised labels.
My own experience with them is infrequent but always indelible, as they represent the pinnacle of luxuriously full-bodied, perfumed, ageless Côte-Rôtie. In fact, few labels in the entirety of Northern Rhône (Jamet, Chave, Rostaing, Allemand, Clape) have the guts to stand up to them, but in 2013, none could match the rich, rip-roaring power of “La Turque.” So of course, we couldn’t stand aside when a handful of these Holy Grail bottles were specially allocated to us, and if you have the means, neither should you. This is the rarefied and rarely scaled peak of Syrah!
NOTE: If you’re salivating over this bottle but don’t want to splurge, take another look at Guigal’s $135 “Château d’Ampuis” offer from this morning (if it hasn’t yet sold out): it’s from the same vintage; it sees nearly the same length of aging in new oak; and three of the seven parcels sourced for the wine immediate flank “La Turque.”
When you first sit down to learn about the Rhône Valley’s long list of venerated producers, you’ll undoubtedly see two names at the forefront: Guigal and Chapoutier. Both are family-run enterprises that purchase fruit from the valley’s greatest appellations while also maintaining their own enviable collection of vineyards. Guigal is largely synonymous with the Northern Rhône, specifically Côte-Rôtie, because their founder, Etienne Guigal, put down roots here in 1924 and subsequently produced an astounding 67 consecutive vintages. Two generations have passed since then, and each has added to the empire’s fame: First, it was the acquisition of Vidal-Fleury, followed by the historic and breathtaking Château d’Ampuis, then Domaines Jean-Louis Grippat and de Vallouit. More recently, there have been several other property investments, too, but today we’re focused on Château d’Ampuis.
Overlooking the Rhône River with Côte-Rôtie’s terraced hills in the immediate backdrop, Château d’Ampuis is a spectacle to behold—but it was in a serious state of decline when Guigal acquired it in 1995. So, they ordered a massive team, led by Jean-Gabriel Mortamet, Chief Architect of Historic Monuments, to fully restore Château d’Ampuis back to its 12th-century glory. It took over a decade, but the payoff was huge. The Guigal family now owns an impressive network of 50-year-old parcels throughout the famed lieux-dits of Côte Blonde and Côte Brune, with the terraced single vineyard of “La Turque” perched precariously in the latter (Mouline is in Blonde; Landonne is in Brune). With its inaugural vintage in 1985, “La Turque” became the newest of the “La Las,” and each release magically seems to combine the best qualities of Mouline and Landonne.
In the cellar, fermentation occurred in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks followed by a whopping 42 months in new, tight-grained French barrels. Starting in 2003, the Guigals launched their very own in-house cooperage so all of the barrels used for today’s 2013 were dried, built, and toasted by their own team! Upon bottling, the final blend was 93% Syrah and 7% Viognier.
Regrettably, we couldn’t open a bottle of this—it’s far too limited—but plenty of fortunate, globally respected critics have. The Wine Spectator called it a “stunning, modern-styled version, with scintillating raspberry purée, plum confiture, and blackberry reduction flavors gliding over velvety but copious tannins.” Parker’s Wine Advocate complemented that by declaring it offered “full-bodied, layered, almost decadent notes of blackcurrants, chocolate, cassis, and toasted spice.” Suckling exclaimed it had “an air of deep-set complexity” and was “extremely complex and fragrant [with] supple, plush, and luxuriant texture.” And Jancis Robinson rounded out the magnificent and ubiquitous praise of Guigal’s 2013 La Turque by deeming it “sumptuous and gorgeous, glowing with health and vivacity.” Bottom line: It is destined to be the shining crown jewel in your cellar whether consumed now, in 5-10 years, or on its 30th birthday. Cheers!
