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2009 Rhone Valley Wine



Narrowing Criteria: 2009 (expand); Rhone Valley (expand)
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2009 Andre Brunel - Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Cailloux
2009 Andre Brunel - Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Cailloux
Varietal: Rhone Blend | Location: France - Rhone Valley - Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Red Wine 
WA 95
Bottle:  $49.99
Case Price (12): $550.00
2009 Arnoux Père & Fils - Vacqueyras Seigneur de Lauris
2009 Arnoux Père & Fils - Vacqueyras Seigneur de Lauris
Varietal: Rhone Blend | Location: France - Rhone Valley - Vacqueyras
Red Wine 
WA 90-92


Arnoux Père's "White Label" Vacqueyras "Seigneur de Lauris," a blend of 70% Grenache and 30% Syrah, sees new oak, and offers excellent structure and aging potential.

Regular price $19.99
SALE!  $17.49
2009 Château d'Or et de Gueules - Costières de Nîmes Bolida
2009 Château d'Or et de Gueules - Costières de Nîmes Bolida
Varietal: Rhone Blend | Location: France - Rhone Valley - Costières de Nîmes
Red Wine 
Bottle:  $31.99
Case Price (12): $350.00
2009 Château La Nerthe - Châteauneuf-du-Pape
2009 Château La Nerthe - Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Varietal: Rhone Blend | Location: France - Rhone Valley - Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Red Wine 
WS 92
WA 92

The 2009 Chateauneuf du Pape is performing even better from bottle than it did last year. Composed of 47% Grenache, 38% Syrah and 15% Mourvedre, it is surprisingly soft and evolved for La Nerthe, but that actually gives the wine additional appeal. Its dense ruby/purple hue is followed by aromas of blue and black fruits, lavender, licorice, truffles and garrigue. Full-bodied, supple textured, fleshy and succulent, it will provide enjoyment over the next 10-15 years.

Read More
Bottle:  $44.99
Case Price (6): $248.00
2009 Château La Nerthe - Châteauneuf-du-Pape White
2009 Château La Nerthe - Châteauneuf-du-Pape White
Varietal: Rhone Blend | Location: France - Rhone Valley - Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Red Wine 
WA 89
Regular price $49.99
SALE!  $39.97
2009 Château La Nerthe - Châteauneuf-du-Pape White Clos de Beauvenir
2009 Château La Nerthe - Châteauneuf-du-Pape White Clos de Beauvenir
Varietal: Rhone Blend | Location: France - Rhone Valley - Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Red Wine 
WA 95
Regular price $129.00
SALE!  $99.00
2009 Clermont-Tonnerre (Alain Corcia) - Châteauneuf-du-Pape
2009 Clermont-Tonnerre (Alain Corcia) - Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Varietal: Rhone Blend | Location: France - Rhone Valley - Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Red Wine 
Bottle:  $29.99
Case Price (12): $330.00
2009 Clermont-Tonnerre (Alain Corcia) - Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Hervé
2009 Clermont-Tonnerre (Alain Corcia) - Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Hervé
Varietal: Rhone Blend | Location: France - Rhone Valley - Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Red Wine 
WA 90
Regular price $34.99
SALE!  $29.99
2009 Clermont-Tonnerre (Alain Corcia) - Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Julie
2009 Clermont-Tonnerre (Alain Corcia) - Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Julie
Varietal: Rhone Blend | Location: France - Rhone Valley - Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Red Wine 

Super-negociant Alain Corcia has come up with another remarkable series of single cuvée Châteauneuf-du-Papes in 2009, each named after a different member of his family, including this outstanding bottling, named after daughter Julie. Robert Parker gives it 90-92 points in The Wine Advocate, saying it "… has a more saturated ruby/purple color and a big, sweet kiss of blackberry, boysenberry, black cherry, licorice, and camphor. Full-bodied, with unctuosity and some heady alcohol, it displays impressive purity, texture, and depth and should drink well for at least a decade or more."

Bottle:  $34.99
Case Price (12): $385.00
2009 Domaine de la Janasse - Côtes du Rhône Les Garrigues
2009 Domaine de la Janasse - Côtes du Rhône Les Garrigues
Varietal: Rhone Blend | Location: France - Rhone Valley
Red Wine 
WA 93
Bottle:  $47.99
Case Price (12): $525.00
2009 Domaine de la Janasse - Terre de Bussière Vin de Pays de la Principauté d'Orange
2009 Domaine de la Janasse - Terre de Bussière Vin de Pays de la Principauté d'Orange
Varietal: Rhone Blend | Location: France - Rhone Valley
Red Wine 
Bottle:  $16.99
Case Price (12): $185.00
2009 Domaine de la Mordorée - Lirac Cuvée de la Reine des Bois
2009 Domaine de la Mordorée - Lirac Cuvée de la Reine des Bois
Varietal: Rhone Blend | Location: France - Rhone Valley - Lirac
Red Wine 
WA 92
Bottle:  $37.99
Case Price (12): $415.00
2009 Domaine de la Renjarde - Côtes du Rhône-Villages Massif d'Uchaux
2009 Domaine de la Renjarde - Côtes du Rhône-Villages Massif d'Uchaux
Varietal: Rhone Blend | Location: France - Rhone Valley - Côtes du Rhône
Red Wine 
WA 88
Regular price $19.99
SALE!  $14.97
2009 Domaine Grand Veneur - Châteauneuf-du-Pape
2009 Domaine Grand Veneur - Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Varietal: Rhone Blend | Location: France - Rhone Valley - Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Red Wine 
WA 92
Bottle:  $44.99
Case Price (12): $495.00
2009 Domaine Grand Veneur - Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Origines
2009 Domaine Grand Veneur - Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Origines
Varietal: Rhone Blend | Location: France - Rhone Valley - Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Red Wine 
WA 95
Bottle:  $59.99
Case Price (12): $660.00
2009 Domaine La Grand Ribe - Côtes du Rhône Villages
2009 Domaine La Grand Ribe - Côtes du Rhône Villages
Varietal: Rhone Blend | Location: France - Rhone Valley - Côtes du Rhône
Red Wine 
WA 88-90
Regular price $10.99
SALE!  $8.99
2009 Domaine La Grand Ribe - Côtes du Rhône Villages Cuvee Centenaire
2009 Domaine La Grand Ribe - Côtes du Rhône Villages Cuvee Centenaire
Varietal: Rhone Blend | Location: France - Rhone Valley - Côtes du Rhône
Red Wine 
WA 91-93

Made from 100% certified organic grapes, predominantly Grenache with a little Syrah, the 2009 La Grand Ribe Cotes du Rhone Villages Centenaire comes from a conscientiously tended small estate in the southern Rhône village of Sainte-Cecile des Vignes. Led by prominent organic (and biodynamic) growers such as Château de Beaucastel and Chapoutier, the Rhône has been in the forefront of the organic movement, not simply for health and environmental reasons, but because these methods produced better-tasting wines. Centenaire, La Grand Ribe’s premium tier Cotes du Rhone Villages, has received a rave 91-93 point review from Robert Parker.

Regular price $14.99
SALE!  $12.99
2009 Domaine Pélaquié - Côtes du Rhône
2009 Domaine Pélaquié - Côtes du Rhône
Varietal: Rhone Blend | Location: France - Rhone Valley - Côtes du Rhône
Red Wine 
Regular price $12.99
SALE!  $9.97
2009 Domaine Santa Duc - Côtes du Rhône-Villages Rasteau Les Blovac
2009 Domaine Santa Duc - Côtes du Rhône-Villages Rasteau Les Blovac
Varietal: Rhone Blend | Location: France - Rhone Valley - Côtes du Rhône
Red Wine 
WA 90
Bottle:  $17.99
Case Price (12): $198.00
2009 Domaine Santa Duc - Gigondas
2009 Domaine Santa Duc - Gigondas
Varietal: Rhone Blend | Location: France - Rhone Valley - Gigondas
Red Wine 
Bottle:  $39.99
Case Price (12): $440.00
2009 E. Guigal - Côtes du Rhône
2009 E. Guigal - Côtes du Rhône
Varietal: Rhone Blend | Location: France - Rhone Valley - Côtes du Rhône
Red Wine 
Bottle:  $13.99
Case Price (12): $154.00
2009 E. Guigal - Crozes-Hermitage
2009 E. Guigal - Crozes-Hermitage
Varietal: Rhone Blend | Location: France - Rhone Valley - Crozes-Hermitage
Red Wine 
WA 92
Tasted from barrel, the 2009 Crozes-Hermitage should turn out to be the most brilliant of this trio. Super levels of black currants, licorice, incense, herbs and earth are found in this deep, medium to full-bodied, fruity 2009. It should drink nicely for 10-15+ years.

(Not yet released)

As I have written many times before, no one in the wine world is better at ?raising? a wine (or as the French call it elevage) than Marcel Guigal, who learned the skills from his father, Etienne. Because everyone tends to focus on vintage conditions and terroir, the importance of a wine's elevage is often overlooked, but Guigal's unusually long tank, foudre and small barrel aging regime for all his red wines as well as several of his whites results in an array of remarkable wines time and time again. Even the most challenging vintages, which often taste under-nourished, vegetal and thin in their first year or two of life, tend to take on concentration and character, turning out to be some of the finest wines in many of the most difficult Rhone vintages. Moreover, Guigal's wines always taste better out of bottle than from barrel, which speaks to his honesty and integrity as well as to his brilliance in deciding how long to age a wine in wood or tank as well as choosing the perfect moment to bottle it. None of this is as simple as it might sound, and that's why Marcel Guigal gets my vote as the reigning genius in terms the upbringing his wines. For ten to twelve years after my first visit to this estate in the late 1970s, I tended to think of Guigal as primarily a red wine specialist. I still believe the red wines are the heart and soul of Maison Guigal, but the quality of the white wines has gone from strength to strength over the last few decades, and the Guigal family now routinely produces some of the finest dry whites of the entire Rhone Valley, including their humble Cotes du Rhone, and more particularly their white cuvees of Crozes-Hermitage, St.-Joseph, Hermitage and Condrieu. They produce more of the latter wine than any other proprietor of this tiny appellation. Guigal's 2008 whites have turned out surprisingly strong. Guigal's luxury cuvee of Condrieu, La Doriane, comes from the estate's tiny holdings in some of the appellation's finest terroirs, such as the Cote Chatillon, Volants, Colombier, and the Coteau Chery. Aged in 100% new oak (although it never shows any oakiness) and put through 100% malolactic fermentation, lees stirring is employed for La Doriane until the malolactic is finished. It is usually bottled after 12-14 months. Guigal's red wines possess some of the lowest sulphur dioxide levels of any finished wines I have ever tasted. Most of them are approximately 10 ppm (parts per million) total SO2, which is virtually nothing. That said, the wines always age incredibly well, which goes back to Guigal's brilliant, patient, long-term barrel, tank and foudre aging. The current value picks in Guigal's red wine portfolio are his Crozes-Hermitage (one offering made) and his three St.-Joseph cuvees. Tasting through Guigal's single vineyard Cote Roties, La Landonne, La Mouline and La Turque, is equal to tasting through a museum dedicated to the world's most compelling wines. Each is treated differently, although there are similarities. La Mouline always comes from the Cote Blonde, La Turque and La Landonne from the Cote Brune; La Mouline is co-fermented with 11% Viognier, La Turque with 5-6% Viognier and La Landonne is 100% Syrah. La Mouline, made from the oldest vines (over 60 years), is vinified by pump-overs; La Turque is vinified by punching down the cap; and La Landonne is vinified in a modern system of cap immersion. All of these techniques tend to produce different tannin levels as well as types of tannin. Despite the fact that these wines spend 42 months in 100% new French oak, the wood component disappears in the character of the wines at about age 6-10. Moreover, these cuvees are rarely racked and are not sulphured until prior to bottling. The total parts per million of SO2 in the three cuvees runs between 8 and 15 parts per million, which is essentially nothing. In even the worst Northern Rhone vintages, Guigal somehow manages to produce amazing wines from these vineyards. The first vintage for La Mouline was 1966, La Landonne 1978, and La Turque 1985. Of course, these wines are bottled with neither fining nor filtration. 1991 was a great year for Guigal's single vineyard Cote Roties, and 2007 is the first vintage since that reminds me so much of that vintage. 2008 was a challenging vintage for the single vineyard Cote Roties. Yet fine wines have been produced in this difficult year - a testament to the skills of Marcel Guigal and his son, Philippe.

Importer: Vintus Wines, Pleasantville, NY; tel. (914) 769-3000Tasted from barrel, the 2009 Crozes-Hermitage should turn out to be the most brilliant of this trio. Super levels of black currants, licorice, incense, herbs and earth are found in this deep, medium to full-bodied, fruity 2009. It should drink nicely for 10-15+ years.

(Not yet released)

As I have written many times before, no one in the wine world is better at ?raising? a wine (or as the French call it elevage) than Marcel Guigal, who learned the skills from his father, Etienne. Because everyone tends to focus on vintage conditions and terroir, the importance of a wine's elevage is often overlooked, but Guigal's unusually long tank, foudre and small barrel aging regime for all his red wines as well as several of his whites results in an array of remarkable wines time and time again. Even the most challenging vintages, which often taste under-nourished, vegetal and thin in their first year or two of life, tend to take on concentration and character, turning out to be some of the finest wines in many of the most difficult Rhone vintages. Moreover, Guigal's wines always taste better out of bottle than from barrel, which speaks to his honesty and integrity as well as to his brilliance in deciding how long to age a wine in wood or tank as well as choosing the perfect moment to bottle it. None of this is as simple as it might sound, and that's why Marcel Guigal gets my vote as the reigning genius in terms the upbringing his wines. For ten to twelve years after my first visit to this estate in the late 1970s, I tended to think of Guigal as primarily a red wine specialist. I still believe the red wines are the heart and soul of Maison Guigal, but the quality of the white wines has gone from strength to strength over the last few decades, and the Guigal family now routinely produces some of the finest dry whites of the entire Rhone Valley, including their humble Cotes du Rhone, and more particularly their white cuvees of Crozes-Hermitage, St.-Joseph, Hermitage and Condrieu. They produce more of the latter wine than any other proprietor of this tiny appellation. Guigal's 2008 whites have turned out surprisingly strong. Guigal's luxury cuvee of Condrieu, La Doriane, comes from the estate's tiny holdings in some of the appellation's finest terroirs, such as the Cote Chatillon, Volants, Colombier, and the Coteau Chery. Aged in 100% new oak (although it never shows any oakiness) and put through 100% malolactic fermentation, lees stirring is employed for La Doriane until the malolactic is finished. It is usually bottled after 12-14 months. Guigal's red wines possess some of the lowest sulphur dioxide levels of any finished wines I have ever tasted. Most of them are approximately 10 ppm (parts per million) total SO2, which is virtually nothing. That said, the wines always age incredibly well, which goes back to Guigal's brilliant, patient, long-term barrel, tank and foudre aging. The current value picks in Guigal's red wine portfolio are his Crozes-Hermitage (one offering made) and his three St.-Joseph cuvees. Tasting through Guigal's single vineyard Cote Roties, La Landonne, La Mouline and La Turque, is equal to tasting through a museum dedicated to the world's most compelling wines. Each is treated differently, although there are similarities. La Mouline always comes from the Cote Blonde, La Turque and La Landonne from the Cote Brune; La Mouline is co-fermented with 11% Viognier, La Turque with 5-6% Viognier and La Landonne is 100% Syrah. La Mouline, made from the oldest vines (over 60 years), is vinified by pump-overs; La Turque is vinified by punching down the cap; and La Landonne is vinified in a modern system of cap immersion. All of these techniques tend to produce different tannin levels as well as types of tannin. Despite the fact that these wines spend 42 months in 100% new French oak, the wood component disappears in the character of the wines at about age 6-10. Moreover, these cuvees are rarely racked and are not sulphured until prior to bottling. The total parts per million of SO2 in the three cuvees runs between 8 and 15 parts per million, which is essentially nothing. In even the worst Northern Rhone vintages, Guigal somehow manages to produce amazing wines from these vineyards. The first vintage for La Mouline was 1966, La Landonne 1978, and La Turque 1985. Of course, these wines are bottled with neither fining nor filtration. 1991 was a great year for Guigal's single vineyard Cote Roties, and 2007 is the first vintage since that reminds me so much of that vintage. 2008 was a challenging vintage for the single vineyard Cote Roties. Yet fine wines have been produced in this difficult year - a testament to the skills of Marcel Guigal and his son, Philippe. -- Robert Parker
Bottle:  $23.99
Case Price (12): $264.00
2009 E. Guigal - Gigondas
2009 E. Guigal - Gigondas
Varietal: Rhone Blend | Location: France - Rhone Valley - Gigondas
Red Wine 
WS 89
WA 93
ST 91

"The 2009 Gigondas was scheduled to be bottled soon after my visit. Composed of 60% Grenache, 25% Mourvedre and 15% Syrah aged in foudre, this dense purple-colored 2009 exhibits copious amounts of meaty richness, blueberries, black raspberries, crushed rocks and flowers. Opulent and dense, it is one of the finest examples of Gigondas Guigal has yet produced. I liked it almost as much as their terrific 2007.

Read More
Bottle:  $29.99
Case Price (12): $330.00
2009 E. Guigal - St.-Joseph
2009 E. Guigal - St.-Joseph
Varietal: Rhone Blend | Location: France - Rhone Valley - St.-Joseph
Red Wine 
WA 92
Not surprisingly, the 2009 St.-Joseph possesses the most opaque ruby/purple color as well as a big, sweet bouquet of blueberry, black raspberry, cherry, crushed rock, spring flowers, incense and ground pepper. It should drink well for a decade or more. While the generic St.-Joseph is aged in neutral wood barrels, the Lieu-Dit St.-Joseph is kept in new oak for 24 months.

(Not yet released)

As I have written many times before, no one in the wine world is better at ?raising? a wine (or as the French call it elevage) than Marcel Guigal, who learned the skills from his father, Etienne. Because everyone tends to focus on vintage conditions and terroir, the importance of a wine's elevage is often overlooked, but Guigal's unusually long tank, foudre and small barrel aging regime for all his red wines as well as several of his whites results in an array of remarkable wines time and time again. Even the most challenging vintages, which often taste under-nourished, vegetal and thin in their first year or two of life, tend to take on concentration and character, turning out to be some of the finest wines in many of the most difficult Rhone vintages. Moreover, Guigal's wines always taste better out of bottle than from barrel, which speaks to his honesty and integrity as well as to his brilliance in deciding how long to age a wine in wood or tank as well as choosing the perfect moment to bottle it. None of this is as simple as it might sound, and that's why Marcel Guigal gets my vote as the reigning genius in terms the upbringing his wines. For ten to twelve years after my first visit to this estate in the late 1970s, I tended to think of Guigal as primarily a red wine specialist. I still believe the red wines are the heart and soul of Maison Guigal, but the quality of the white wines has gone from strength to strength over the last few decades, and the Guigal family now routinely produces some of the finest dry whites of the entire Rhone Valley, including their humble Cotes du Rhone, and more particularly their white cuvees of Crozes-Hermitage, St.-Joseph, Hermitage and Condrieu. They produce more of the latter wine than any other proprietor of this tiny appellation. Guigal's 2008 whites have turned out surprisingly strong. There is widespread agreement that the greatest terroir of the large appellation of St.-Joseph is the 8-acre parcel high on the steep hillsides above the city of Tournon. With a south/southeast facing exposition overlooking the Rhone River and Tain l?Hermitage, this 8-acre site is Guigal's famous Vignes de l?Hospice St.-Joseph. This vineyard is composed of fragmented granite soils that are similar to the famed Les Bessards on the other side of the river in Hermitage. Unfortunately, only 500 or so cases of the Vignes de l?Hospice emerge from this vineyard. Along with Chapoutier's St.-Joseph Les Granits, it is always one of the St.-Josephs of the appellation. The Vignes de l?Hospice spends 30 months in small new oak casks, but one would never know that when smelling or tasting it. I admire what Guigal is doing with his two white wines from St.-Joseph. The generic St.-Joseph is always 95% Marsanne and 5% Roussanne aged in stainless steel (50%), new oak (25%) and neutral oak (25%). The special 1,000 case cuvee of St.-Joseph Lieu-Dit St.-Joseph is composed of 93% Marsanne and 7% Roussanne from a 5-acre parcel, and is aged in 100% new oak. In top vintages, Guigal produces two cuvees of white Hermitage, the generic offering and the limited production Hermitage called Ex-Voto, a blend of 95% Marsanne and 5% Roussanne from two of the great sites for white Hermitage, Les Murets and l?Ermite. No Ex-Voto was made in 2008 as it was blended with the regular white Hermitage. These wines spend a number of years in small French oak. Guigal's red wines possess some of the lowest sulphur dioxide levels of any finished wines I have ever tasted. Most of them are approximately 10 ppm (parts per million) total SO2, which is virtually nothing. That said, the wines always age incredibly well, which goes back to Guigal's brilliant, patient, long-term barrel, tank and foudre aging. The current value picks in Guigal's red wine portfolio are his Crozes-Hermitage (one offering made) and his three St.-Joseph cuvees. Readers looking for over-the-top richness and 40-50 years of aging potential should check out the special cuvee Ex-Voto. There are usually around 1,000 cases of this old vine blend from Les Bessards (40%), Les Greffieux (40%) and the balance primarily from Les Murets. Hermitage has been made by the Guigal firm for over 50 years. The quality of the wines has gotten dramatically better with the acquisition of top vineyard sites from producers such as Jean-Louis Grippat and the De Vallouit family. This has allowed Guigal to add holdings from such famed lieux-dits as Le Meal, Beaumes, Les Bessards and Dionnieres. In most vintages, the regular Hermitage is aged 3 years in cask of which 45% is new French oak. The special cuvee called Hermitage Ex-Voto is aged for 42 months in 100% new French oak. All of these offerings are aged in barrels that are specifically made at Guigal's own cooper at Chateau d?Ampuis.

Importer: Vintus Wines, Pleasantville, NY; tel. (914) 769-3000Not surprisingly, the 2009 St.-Joseph possesses the most opaque ruby/purple color as well as a big, sweet bouquet of blueberry, black raspberry, cherry, crushed rock, spring flowers, incense and ground pepper. It should drink well for a decade or more. While the generic St.-Joseph is aged in neutral wood barrels, the Lieu-Dit St.-Joseph is kept in new oak for 24 months.

(Not yet released)

As I have written many times before, no one in the wine world is better at ?raising? a wine (or as the French call it elevage) than Marcel Guigal, who learned the skills from his father, Etienne. Because everyone tends to focus on vintage conditions and terroir, the importance of a wine's elevage is often overlooked, but Guigal's unusually long tank, foudre and small barrel aging regime for all his red wines as well as several of his whites results in an array of remarkable wines time and time again. Even the most challenging vintages, which often taste under-nourished, vegetal and thin in their first year or two of life, tend to take on concentration and character, turning out to be some of the finest wines in many of the most difficult Rhone vintages. Moreover, Guigal's wines always taste better out of bottle than from barrel, which speaks to his honesty and integrity as well as to his brilliance in deciding how long to age a wine in wood or tank as well as choosing the perfect moment to bottle it. None of this is as simple as it might sound, and that's why Marcel Guigal gets my vote as the reigning genius in terms the upbringing his wines. For ten to twelve years after my first visit to this estate in the late 1970s, I tended to think of Guigal as primarily a red wine specialist. I still believe the red wines are the heart and soul of Maison Guigal, but the quality of the white wines has gone from strength to strength over the last few decades, and the Guigal family now routinely produces some of the finest dry whites of the entire Rhone Valley, including their humble Cotes du Rhone, and more particularly their white cuvees of Crozes-Hermitage, St.-Joseph, Hermitage and Condrieu. They produce more of the latter wine than any other proprietor of this tiny appellation. Guigal's 2008 whites have turned out surprisingly strong. There is widespread agreement that the greatest terroir of the large appellation of St.-Joseph is the 8-acre parcel high on the steep hillsides above the city of Tournon. With a south/southeast facing exposition overlooking the Rhone River and Tain l?Hermitage, this 8-acre site is Guigal's famous Vignes de l?Hospice St.-Joseph. This vineyard is composed of fragmented granite soils that are similar to the famed Les Bessards on the other side of the river in Hermitage. Unfortunately, only 500 or so cases of the Vignes de l?Hospice emerge from this vineyard. Along with Chapoutier's St.-Joseph Les Granits, it is always one of the St.-Josephs of the appellation. The Vignes de l?Hospice spends 30 months in small new oak casks, but one would never know that when smelling or tasting it. I admire what Guigal is doing with his two white wines from St.-Joseph. The generic St.-Joseph is always 95% Marsanne and 5% Roussanne aged in stainless steel (50%), new oak (25%) and neutral oak (25%). The special 1,000 case cuvee of St.-Joseph Lieu-Dit St.-Joseph is composed of 93% Marsanne and 7% Roussanne from a 5-acre parcel, and is aged in 100% new oak. In top vintages, Guigal produces two cuvees of white Hermitage, the generic offering and the limited production Hermitage called Ex-Voto, a blend of 95% Marsanne and 5% Roussanne from two of the great sites for white Hermitage, Les Murets and l?Ermite. No Ex-Voto was made in 2008 as it was blended with the regular white Hermitage. These wines spend a number of years in small French oak. Guigal's red wines possess some of the lowest sulphur dioxide levels of any finished wines I have ever tasted. Most of them are approximately 10 ppm (parts per million) total SO2, which is virtually nothing. That said, the wines always age incredibly well, which goes back to Guigal's brilliant, patient, long-term barrel, tank and foudre aging. The current value picks in Guigal's red wine portfolio are his Crozes-Hermitage (one offering made) and his three St.-Joseph cuvees. Readers looking for over-the-top richness and 40-50 years of aging potential should check out the special cuvee Ex-Voto. There are usually around 1,000 cases of this old vine blend from Les Bessards (40%), Les Greffieux (40%) and the balance primarily from Les Murets. Hermitage has been made by the Guigal firm for over 50 years. The quality of the wines has gotten dramatically better with the acquisition of top vineyard sites from producers such as Jean-Louis Grippat and the De Vallouit family. This has allowed Guigal to add holdings from such famed lieux-dits as Le Meal, Beaumes, Les Bessards and Dionnieres. In most vintages, the regular Hermitage is aged 3 years in cask of which 45% is new French oak. The special cuvee called Hermitage Ex-Voto is aged for 42 months in 100% new French oak. All of these offerings are aged in barrels that are specifically made at Guigal's own cooper at Chateau d?Ampuis. -- Robert Parker
Bottle:  $33.99
Case Price (12): $374.00
2009 Laudun Chusclan - Crozes-Hermitage Les Croses
2009 Laudun Chusclan - Crozes-Hermitage Les Croses
Varietal: Rhone Blend | Location: France - Rhone Valley - Crozes-Hermitage
Red Wine 
Bottle:  $17.99
Case Price (12): $198.00
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