2018 Domaine Guion Bourgueil Cuvée Prestige

Community Tasting Note

David Paris (dbp) wrote:

90 Points

Thursday, June 10, 2021 - After the amazing bottle of 2018 Cuvée Domaine, I think I bought more of the 2018 Prestige than any wine in my life. Is it worth it? Well... perhaps it's too early to tell. The 2018 Cuvée Domaine drinks better today. The Prestige is most certainly much more structured and robust. It has now been in the glass for an hour or so. The wine requires attention to not miss the elegance that lies beneath the structure. On attention, the aromas offer lithe berries, intense chalk dust, and pretty cutting graphite. It's interesting how intense and strong those aromas become after multiple large huffs. It still feels compact on the nose, but elegance does shine through. Palate entry starts with tight, integrated blueberries, but that quickly transitions to the massive, intense structure that surrounds this wine. Impressive tannins, acidity, and minerals are all present in earnest. Keeping this in the mouth for any length of time only intensifies the structural elements and perhaps covers some of the flavor components. Acidity is actually the dominant structural element on the finish, but of course this is coupled with intense, fine grained tannins, and its presence is felt up to a minute later. There is no doubt this is an impressively built wine. Again, totally nuts that something like this can be had for under $14. My score is for enjoyment today, but I am very happy with this offering... it's just too early to fully enjoy this wine and I expect many points higher of enjoyment in due time. This is a bottle that should age gracefully for 3+ decades. Glad I have one for every year of that time... perhaps that's what I'll do with them, so by the time I'm 80 I can finally figure out how exactly a Bourgueil ages.

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6 comments have been posted

Comment posted by fingers:

6/10/2021 9:36:00 PM - Bravo and thank you for this thorough and insightful note.
The corks have me worried, but the wine inside is lovely. Have you seen any cork failures in your stock?
Comment posted by David Paris (dbp):

6/10/2021 9:40:00 PM - I saw your note on the cork and forgot to mention that mine was flawless... no streaks up the side and just red on the tip, where it should be. This was my first bottle of the '18 Prestige and I also didn't have any cork problems with either '18 Domaine I opened.
Comment posted by Gregmonroe:

6/11/2021 8:28:00 PM - Thank you for your detailed notes, and the info on the cork.
Comment posted by kdubler:

7/13/2021 8:37:00 AM - I've been buying Guion going back 10+ years and it's one of the top producers in my cellar by total bottles.

I think your note is perfect, but just would ad this for you. The Domaine I have found drinks better over the first 5-7 years, at that point the Prestige starts to overtake it in my opinion. The Domaine can easily survive 10+ years, but the Prestige has more complexity which really shows with age. I buy both every year and drink the Domaine while I wait for the Prestige to age, which is a ridiculous thing to say about a $13 bottle... They also produce a Cuvée Deux Monts, which I have purchased recently but have not tried yet.
Comment posted by David Paris (dbp):

7/13/2021 9:19:00 AM - Thanks for your thoughts, kdubler! I totally agree with you on all fronts, and it's great to hear confirmation from another experienced palate with these wines. My first vintage with both the Domaine and the Prestige was the 2009 and I have been buying whenever possible since then. It's one of the true bargains in the wine world. We actually had a visit planned at the winery in Bourgueil for March of last year, but had to cancel the trip three days before departure! We will make it there soon...
Comment posted by kdubler:

7/13/2021 9:33:00 AM - We went through the area in 2019, but sadly were only there a few days. My wife really wanted to see castles so I only got to visit a few wineries and did not make it to Guion sadly.

If you have time eat at "L'Étape Gourmande" a small restaurant close to Villandry. We spent almost a month in France, and ate at many different fancy restaurants, but this little outdoor restaurant may be my favorite. Not Fancy, but a perfect lunch spot on a trip through France...