1993 E. Guigal, Hermitage Rouge, Northern Rhône, France.
In what was thought of as a weak vintage, this négociant Hermitage bottling from Guigal proved to be a lovely and nicely drinking wine with a surprisingly delicious array of fruit still holding on here in this mature medium bodied wine. The palate is obviously fading with dusty red fruits, dried flowers, grilled orange, fig, cedar, delicate spice and leathery notes leading the way here, but this is clearly terroir driven and shows of varietal Syrah purity. Tasted blind, this Guigal 1993 Hermitage was widely admired and it certainly impressed me, which is hardy novel as I really like old Rhône reds and this wine held on well after opening and gained some savory complexity with air. During the 1990s Guigal was king of the Rhône and their cru Côte-Rôtie wines, known as the La La(s), were some of the most expensive and most sought after wines in the world, and the wines were noted for their deep fruit, power and age worthiness, even their non-estate wines like this one were collector items. This wine comes from sloping vineyard sites within the Hermitage zone on gravelly, depleted silt and sandy soils over clay and limestone, which adds to the sense of place and character here. Current vintages of this wine are well worth chasing down and I suggest putting a bottle or two away for 5 to 10 years, which will let the wine all come together and be highly rewarding.
The E. Guigal Hermitage Rouge, 100% Syrah, was temperature controlled macerated with all de-stemmed berries for about 4 weeks in vat, after which the wine saw close to 36 months in barrel with about 50% new oak to tame the serious ripe nature of the fruit and the backbone tannins. These days Guigal’s top wines, especially the Côte-Rôtie efforts, are still highly coveted and their négociant line appeals for the value they offer, with the Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage, Châteauneuf-du-Pape and even the basic Côtes du Rhône being wines that I always look for. The pedigree definitely shines through on this Hermitage bottling and while quite luxurious and polished when young, this wine cellars very nicely, as this 1993 shows. At this stage the oak has fully integrated and this wine, from mostly younger vines with some that average 30 years old, while at the very end of its drinking window, was a joyous experience with a brick/garnet hue in the glass, adding hints of pipe tobacco, licorice, incense and lingering currant fruit. Etienne Guigal really took this winery to the top of the world, but now his grandson Philippe is continuing that tradition of excellence here at the iconic E. Guigal and the future looks bright for this legendary property. I highly recommend the step up level Ex-Voto Ermitage wines from Guigal too, these are great wines, slightly under the radar and rival the elite Côte-Rôtie bottlings.
($60-140 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive