I know this is going to be a bit controversial, but here goes!
First, I should point out that my palate tends to skewer toward the AFWE crowd as my favorite wine regions are the Northern Rhone, Burgundy, the Piedmont, Loire and the Mosel. In general, I am not a fan of fruit bombs or use of a meaningful amount of new oak. I look for transparency in the fruit.
That said, I am absolutely floored by the quality and purity of fruit of aged Guigal La Las. There is no way around it for me. If these wines are given enough time to integrate the unbelievable amount of new oak used in their upbringing, it is hard to find a better wine experience.
My latest example is 1987 La Landonne which I was fortunate enough to have a friend serve me last week. I was blown away by the wine. It was the quintessential Syrah without even a hint of new oak on the nose or the palate. It was easily the best wine I have had from the relatively mediocre 1987 vintage, and I have been fortunate to have some big name wines from that vintage.
My question is, “How does Guigal do this?” I know of no other wine that can transform itself from something that is practically not drinkable at an earlier age due to new oak flavors to something that is profound 20 to 30 years later. I would very much like to hear whether others who have palates similar to mine feel the same way. In addition, how really can this transformation happen with the La Las but not happen any way near to the same degree with other wine subjected to similar treatment.
I suspect that more “modern” wines will actually do that, if given enough time. Offcause the fruit has to be intense and of high quality to last longer than the oak, but i think it is possible. Often these wines are dismissed though, as fruitbombs in their youth. A good amount of them will probably fall apart sooner than the oak recedes, but i dont think Guigal has a monopoly on the formula
My main question is whether young vintages will perform in the same fashion as the older ones. I definitely skew classical/AFWE, but aged LaLas are wonderful experiences. The younger examples I have had (06 and 07) have been very dense and rich, but I walked away with the sense that they will absorb the oak in the long run. Whether they then turn into wines that are in someone’s preferred style is another question - I am surprised a little that I answer “yes,” but that’s part of what makes wine interesting, right?
I will say that this happens a nontrivial amount of the time, in my experience. However, it is well under the 50% mark. Given that, you don’t see me buying any of that kind of wine in hopes that they turn out well. But I’m not dumping the remaining bottles in my cellar, either (I bought them way back when I did like that kind of wine).
I don’t think the Viognier is related to the recession of the oak over time. The Viognier is in the wine to stabilize the color. The oak question is an interesting one and I’ve never researched it but my hunch is that some of the compounds we associate with oak recombine with other things in the wine to become new compounds that we don’t detect as oak any more. Since I’m much more familiar with Spanish wines, I’ve seen it happen there quite often, but not always. Sometimes you taste the oak in a big way even 50 years later and sometimes it just integrates like the Guigal wines do.
It’s skilled winemaking and an understanding of what is going to happen with the “ingredients”, just like a cook would understand what’s going to happen with his combination of ingredients. Too bad more people don’t have that understanding.
With Guigal’s celebrated pickiness about fruit selection, the wines should turn out very good (never mind the prices), but that still leaves the question if the very long aging in new oak is really necessary. I’ve had lots of wonderful older wines that probably started their wonderfulness plateaus sooner than Guigal’s top bottlings; a longer drinking window means more value, for me at least.
You’re paying a big big, big premium to drink from Guigal. Not for me. I bought a couple by mistake. I’m on the hunt for the little known, more taditional, Cornas, Cote Rotie or St Joseph for sub $60.
A quarter-turn off topic, but to me it’s also amazing that this guy is at the same time cranking out a very good CdR for about $9 a bottle, vintage after vintage.
Having visited, the Guigal facility is a great combination of quality consciousness and production on a (relatively) large scale. The latter may be too big for a lot of AFWE people to love, but nothing I saw made me think quality wasn’t their main concern. Guigal’s negociant offerings are, to me, the same quality as the wines offered by Drouhin, Jadot (reds), etc. in Burgundy that many of us largely regard without a blink.
I hate to say it, but I often feel like the primary sin of the LaLas is that Parker likes them.
The “off” vintage Lalas, like the “off” vintage Chave, are also amazing and display a purity of fruit that shows an adjustment of oak treatment in the elevage. We recently had the complete lineup of 1992 Lalas at a tasting and they were sublime.
Off vintages are lovely. Have had good success with 70s, 80s - even 84 Landonne is extremely drinkable. IMHO 88, 90, 91 are still too young. The 85s are the best youngest ‘top’ vintage to drink I think. You have to have so much patience with these wines!
I haven’t had any of the LaLas yet, but I do drink their Crozes-Hermitages and St.-Josephs, and am always impressed with the way those wines mature…I don’t think I’ve had one yet that I didn’t like. Evidently Guigal imparts quality throughout its range.
From having visited Guigal’s cellar a few times and tasted the single vineyard wines over the course of their barrel aging, it seems to me that the key is the extended aging in the oak. If I remember correctly it is 40 months and by the time the wine finishes that regimen, the oak has receded to the background with the fruit taking over the wine’s personality. Several vintages are among the greatest wines I have ever tasted with 1969 La Mouline being especially memorable.
Where do you see it for that price? I haven’t seen for less than $13 or $14 in recent years.
I’ve loved this wine over many decades, but I have to say I’m less enamored now as the percentage of syrah has risen – to over 50% in some vintages. Still, the level of quality is exceptional for the volume he produces.
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