Guigal La Las Masterclass with Brett Crittenden

Handford Wines, London
Tasted Monday, February 8, 2016 by Papies with 592 views

Introduction

Brett Crittenden from Maison Guigal once again hosted a great evening at Handford Wines to show the beauty and wine making of these famous and glorious wines.

He made a point that wine making has definitely been improving with a lot of focus on the vines for the last 10-15 years and albeit they don't believe in the inflexibility of organic branding of wines still they are effectively it barring years when the vines need them to break with organic laws. "When a vine is sick we will give it antibiotics" he joked.

He also made a point that the viognier in the La Mouline (11%) and La Turque (7%) are co planted and co fermented and the level is decided by the vintage not the winemaker. IE its treated like the syrah and harvested the same time.

The surprise for us , usually die hard LA Mouline lovers and the only wine we have given 100 (1983 2 times and 1989) , was the the Landonne shown super bright in the below vintages and the Turque was a close second albeit we were split in 2009 and 2000. La Mouline if nothing else "disappointed".

Flight 1 (1 Note)

  • 2014 E. Guigal Condrieu La Doriane 93 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu

    Gold color. Surprisingly fresh and mineral and with a good core of acidity that sets it apart for the usual condrieu experience. The richness is there (apricot, ;ight honey notes0 and definitely a bit of oaky dynamics but not as expected from a wine which spent 14 months in new oak. It was described by Brett Crittenden as a wine of in tension and we think indeed that describes it really. Definitely the stone fruit feel will stay with us, the minerality and the acidity. Probably the first Doriane we actually liked. Nice finish too.

    Old vines, no added acid, full malolactic,14 months in new oak and a new mentality towards minerality and not richness. We liked the result. (Andreas 93-94 / Nicol 92-93)

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Flight 2 (3 Notes)

  • 1992 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Mouline 93 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    Brownish tint on the color. Smoky, earthy, light pitty on the nose, light fruit. Touch if sweet fruit on the palate, forest floor. Very nice old school well evolved and although not to the level of the big great La Moulines of the 80s this is a very good wine for now. Drink sooner than later in our view. 93

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  • 1993 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque 93 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    Not as impressive as last time we tried it ( Papies 95 in 2013) but still a beautiful wine.
    Herbal, herbs de Provence notes, olives, impressively fresh and bright and seems t have quite a bit of life ahead of it. Nice acidity, balance and elegance here and quite impressive once again goven th eaverage vintage 1993 was. 93-94

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  • 1992 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne 94 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    Well aged, brownish tint, olives, light smoky edge, signature syrah roast meat. Still good fruit and blind we would have guessed off vintage 80s La Mouline. Light dusty feel . good acidity still. Very good and our favorite of the old La Las on this evening. (Nicol 93+ / Andreas 94)

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Flight 3 (3 Notes)

  • 2000 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Mouline 92 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    Much like last time 3 year sago (Papies 91) was a bit disappointing as it showed really ripe and at times lactic. Fruit focused, a touch raisin too ,light honey and we wonder if the viognier added to this side. Both of us discussed that we would not have guessed this was a syrah in a blind tasting. The good news is that the acidity is there which would allow for ageing and hopefully some evolution but feels like this needs another 10yrs to be worthy of the name.

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  • 2000 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque 94 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    Having tried this twice before (2010 Rated 95, 2013 Rated 93) it was interesting to come across it again. Dark red in color, meaty, roast meat, red fruit, definitely less fruit than the Mouline 09 (Papies 92). Spicy and energetic, very herbal, nice acidity and tension . Fresh and fruit focused at this stage. Needs a lot of time to get to its max potential maybe another 5 to 10 years. Patience. ( Andreas 92+ / Nicol 95)

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  • 2000 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne 95 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    Dark red in color. Starts off restrained and buttoned down but develops nicely into a beautiful wine. Would thus suggest decanting. Big wine, nice acidity and balance though, light roast meat on the nose, herbs, strength but with elegance. Savoury and rustic at times. lovely wine and full of promise and easily the better of the 2000s La Las. (Andreas 95+ / Nicol 94)

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Flight 4 (3 Notes)

  • 2009 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Mouline

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    Young wine, rich fruit and oaky dynamics. More of an australian shiraz at this stage and definitely shows off the sunshine vintage that 2009 was. Closed but not austere and ha sno complexity. Very ripe almost sweet berries, caramelised berries. One to forget for many years we think and hope. Will not rate at this stage as we don't see the point.

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  • 2009 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    Dark red in colour. glossy.Spicy, herbal notes on the nose, bright fruit, green pepper. A touch Aussie Shiraz but not as "bad" as the La Mouline 2009. Rich fruit, light raisin feel and a lot of oaky dynamic. Too young to rate at this stage but definitely promising.

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  • 2009 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    Dark red in color, youthful and glossy. unlike the La Turqe 09 & La Mouline 09 this was a more expressive rhone syrah with none of the Aussie Shiraz feel that the other two had.
    More evolved, herbal, light smoky and among the 09 La Las the one showing the best today. Gentle power, finesse and elegance. An infant yet full of promise. No need to rate at this early stage

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