In the mid 2000s, I came to think (largely spurred on by the praises sung by the major critics) that Rhones would be a good place for me and I bought a decent number. I’ve gradually come to not especially enjoying most of them, and sometimes on a slow night like this and when my wife isn’t drinking with me, I open one as much just to move it on out of my overcrowded storage as anything else.
So it was with this bottle, the last of a number of Guigal 03-05 wines (Cote Rotie, Hermitage, CdP) I had bought which have generally been pretty good though not really exciting.
Right from the gate, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I got a really good one in this bottle. There is really no roastedness, raisin or alcohol showing on this, despite the blazing 03 vintage. What I like about this wine is that it checks most of the Cote Rotie boxes, but it does each of them with subtlety and modesty, and none really overrides the pleasant sensation of ripe fruit and overall balance.
There is a pleasingly mild garrigue/lavender on the nose alongside the red fruit. On the palate, the red cherry fruit is quite pretty, and when you look, you can find rare beef, licorice, olive, bay leaf and pepper, but it’s all so nicely integrated that those are merely notions supporting the whole wine, none of them poking out or creating a distraction. There is still some chalky tannin at the finish, just the right amount to give this structure but not to add any harshness or astringency.
I wish I had more of these, or at least had a syrah lover to share it with, but my attempt at a tasting note will have to suffice.