Guigal Château d'Ampuis - complete vertical tasting of 1995-2009

The 15 vintages of Château d'Ampuis from 1995 (the first vintage released) to 2009 (the most recent release) plus three reference wines were tasted in three flights of six wines each. I arranged the tasting, so although the wines were served semi-blind within each flight, I knew which was which. About half the wines had been purchased when new and cellared under good conditions since then, while half were auction purchases. Judged from the outside, all bottles looked like they were in perfect condition with respect to fill level and the appearance of the wine.

If I summarise the vintages using my own palate, 1995, 1999 and 2009 were of the highest class right now, and 2005 will be there after a number of more years. 1998 and 2007 also showed quite high class, and 2001 may possibly qualify as member of that group with additional cellaring. Perhaps this is also true of perfect bottles of the 1997. Moreover, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2003, 2001 and 1997 were all quite good wines. 2008, 2007 and to some extent 2002 performed better than I had expected from these vintages, while 2006 actually underperformed somewhat given the initially higher scores of this vintage compared to the 2007. 1996 and 2003 are those vintages most clearly marked but their vintage character, but in very different ways (respectively green notes and very hot character) and there the opinion on the wines will very much depend on what one thinks of these "outlying" vintage styles.

Here I included the three oldest vintages, and the three vintages from the 2000s that were expected to be slightly weaker than the rest judging from vintage charts and other scores.

• 2008 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Château d'Ampuis 91 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Medium red colour. Nose of blackberries, noticeably flowery with violets, some mint, spice with pepper, clearly elegant. After a while some oak notes emerge. The palate shows blackberries, blueberries, tart berry notes, good concentration, pepper, mineral, medium(+) tannins, and an aftertaste with tart berries. A medium-powered style with fine elegance and balance. Young, but drinks well now, 91 p.
  Considering that the 2008 Northern Rhône vintage is supposed to be fairly medoiocre, this wine is quite marvelous!

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• 2002 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Château d'Ampuis 89 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Medium red with slightly faded edge. Nose with blackberries, ripe strawberries, some developed notes with some leather, spice and pepper, slightly flowery. A rather elegant nose that actually gives me some Pinot Noir vibes. Palate with ripe strawberries, some dark berries, a berry-dominated and medium(+) concentrated impression, noticeably spicy with pepper, medium(+) tannins and slightly tough aftertaste. Rather fully developed, rather good balance but not as impressive as many other vintages; the tannins also come through a bit much, 89 p.
  For a vintage that was plagued by rain at harvest time, this is a good wine, but most other Ampuis vintages are clearly better. Intresting enough, I don't find any green notes in it, which is something I would have expected from a vintage of this character.

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• 2000 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Château d'Ampuis 89 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Medium red colour with faded edge. Nose with red berries, spice, some leather and animal notes, noticeably developed and shows an almost metallic note (metal filings) which doesn't make it that impressive. Palate with red berries, blackberries, good fruity note, medium(+) concentration, tart/acidic impression, clearly spicy with pepper, medium+ tannins that make themselves felt rather much. Fully developed and with a bit of a hot vintage character. Improved in the glass but not quite balanced, and it could have had a little more fruit (to balance the tannins) and elegance, 89 p.

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• 1997 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Château d'Ampuis 91 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Medium red with some brown in the core, brick edge. Nose with dark and red berries, spice, quite a bit of barnyard aromas and leather, strong developed notes. Palate with dark berries, medium(+) concentration, slightly sweet fruit, spice and pepper, good acidity, medium tannins that have softened; tart/acidic and slightly hard aftertaste. Fully developed and wonderful maturity, but based on this bottle I would advice against cellaring this wine for much longer, 91 p.

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• 1996 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Château d'Ampuis 87 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Medium red with some brown in the core, brick edge. Nose of dark berries, green notes, stable or barn aromas with used straw in need of changing, somewhat agressive notes, but also clearly developed. Palate with dark berries, medium concentration, rather mild spices, medium tannins, tart/acidic aftertaste. The palate shows some tendency of having tired, but still shows better balance than the nose. Lean and classical but with a nose that I find disturbing; fully developed and has probably started to go downhill, 87 p.
  
  A highly controversial wine. 13 participants voted for best and worst wine of the flight (six vintages of Ampuis), and this wine ended up getting 7 best and 5 worst votes. I was in the "worst" camp. Those who liked it seemed to think that it showed wonderful development, while those of us who were less impressed with some rather aggressive notes that didn't limit themselves to the type of green notes that can be found in many Côte-Rôties, although less often in the wines of Guigal.

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• 1995 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Château d'Ampuis 93 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Medium red with some brick edge. Nose with dark berries, spice, coffee, strong notes of leather and barnyard, rather strongly developed notes. Palate with dark berries, some sweetness of fruit, good concentration, fine mineral notes, noticeable spice notes with pepper, medium(+) tannins, long aftertaste with berries and tannin. Very fine balance and almost majestic in style! Rather fully developed, but should be able to take considerable additional cellaring. 93 p
  
  Clearly a better bottle than when I tasted this wine last year.

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Here I included some of the best mature vintages, and a comparison between three 2007s, including a La Mouline. I included a Jamet for comparison since these wines are in a style very different style from that of Guigal.

• 1998 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Château d'Ampuis Flawed

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  The first bottle: corked. However, the defect wasn't noticeable when I first opened it, but only after it had been poured after having first spent over an hour in the decanter. Luckily, I had a backup bottle that was opened instead.

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• 1998 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Château d'Ampuis 92 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Medium red colour, paler edge. Nose of dark berries, spice and pepper, slightly herbaceous, developed notes with some leather and barnyard; a powerful nose. The nose shows rather clear development but also quite a bit of youthful notes. Palate with blackberries, good concentration, noticeable acidity, pepper, medium tannins, aftertaste with tart berries. Fine balance, rather development, can take more time in cellar. 92 p.

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• 1999 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Château d'Ampuis 93 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Medium red, rather compact colour, slightly faded edge. Nose with dark berries, spice and pepper, violets, animal notes, slightly herbaceous, mint and mineral, slightly developed notes with barnyard aromas and leather; elegant. Palate with cherries, blackberries, good concentration, some mint, mineral, medium(+) tannins, aftertaste with berries and acidity/tart notes. Fine balance, starting to mature, should be allowed more time in the cellar, 93+ p.
  Less developed than the 1998, slightly lighter and more herbaceous nose, but more elegant.

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• 2001 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Château d'Ampuis 91 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Medium red, rather compact colour, faded edge. Nose with dark berries, a bit pf ripe and sweet fruit, slightly herbaceous, some developed notes with barnyard aromas. A youthful and at the same time developed nose. Palate with blackberries, powerful concentration, pepper, quite present acidity, medium tannins, aftertaste with berries and acidity/tart notes. Good balance, starting to mature, should be allowed more time in the cellar, 91+ p.
  Not quite as good as the 1999, but comes across as rather similar.

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• 2007 Domaine Jamet Côte-Rôtie 90 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Medium red, rather compact colur. Nose with strong green notes of stalks, grass and green pepper, cherries, some flowers; elegant. Palate with blackberries, blueberries, fine acidity, medium tannins, aftertaste with tart berries and mineral. Good balance, can take more cellaring, 90+ p.
  
  Included as a pirate wine in a flight with Guigal wines, this definitely stood out with its strong green and herbaceous notes, and was easy to spot as a non-Guigal.

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• 2007 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Château d'Ampuis 92 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Medium red, rather compact colour, slightly paler edge. Nose with ripe cherries, blackberries, flowery notes with violets, spice with cloves and pepper, a hint of herbaceous notes; comes across a spicy and aromatic. Palate with blackberries, blueberries, powerful concentration of fruit and berries, some sweetness of fruit, well embedded and velvety tannins. Young, but drinks well now, 92+ p.
  Better than expected from the vintage!

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• 2007 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Mouline 94 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Medium red, rather compact colour. Nose with blackberries, ripe cherries, cloves; after some time in the glass mint notes emerge. Palate with blackberries, ripe cherries, powerful concentration, pepper, powerful but well embedded and velvety medium+ tannins. A large-size wine on the palate, but young; it is somewhat drinkable now, but isn't fully open for business and indicates that it is in a "dumb phase", give it time, 94+ p.
  
  This wine is slightly more flowery and more elegant than the 2007 Château d'Ampuis, but currently more discrete in the nose. When I tasted this wine about a year ago it was more expressive, so it has obviously closed down more than the 2007 Ampuis since then.

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Here I included the more powerful of the younger vintages, as well as the 2004 to provide contrast to the 2003 and 2005, and a 2009 Brune et Blonde for comparison.

• 2004 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Château d'Ampuis 90 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Medium red colour, faded edge. Nose with ripe strawberries, some dark berries, noticeably herbaceous, a hint of mint, some spice, discrete notes of maturity. Palate with sweet red berries, rather good concentration of fruit, strong mint and herbal notes, high acidity, some mineral, medium tannins. Not a heavyweight, and rather ready in its development, 90 p.
  Comes across as a little lighter than many of the other vintages, and with more pronounced herbaceous notes.

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• 2009 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde 91 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Medium red, rather compact colour. Nose with blackberries, cherries, slightly flowery with violets, some cloves, some pepper, just a hint of herbs; rather elegant. Palate with blackberries, tart berries, powerful concentration, slightly sweet fruit, medium tannins of a supple character, aftertaste with sweet berries and a hint of alcoholic feeling. Young, drinkable now although it is not completely "settled", can definitely develop, 91+ p.
  Compared to an average vintage of Château d'Ampuis, this powerful vintage of Brune et Blonde is definitely not lighter, but it is slightly less flowery.

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• 2009 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Château d'Ampuis 93 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Medium red, rather compact colour with a hint of purple. Nose with blackberries, blueberries, flowery notes with violets and hyacinths, some cloves and black pepper, some animal notes; elegant. Palate with ripe blackberries, ripe cherries, some strawberries, massive concentration of fruit, well embedded medium+ tannins. Quite a lot of concentration and power, young but drinkable now, 93+ p.
  More powerful and flowery nose than the 2009 Brune et Blonde 2009, and shows the same "punch" on the palate as the 2007 La Mouline. An exceptionally good Chateau d'Ampuis!

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• 2006 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Château d'Ampuis 91 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Medium red, slightly faded edge. (Paler in colour than the 2005.) Nose with blackberries and some ripe strawberries, a lot of animal and sausage notes, cloves, slightly herbacous, some developed nptes. Palate with blackberries, strawberries, rather sweet fruit, spicy notes with pepper, medium tannins, some mineral, rather good acidity. Already shows some development, should be able to develop more, 91 p.
  The rather developed and clearly sausage-dominated nose was a bit surprising given the wine's rather young age. This wine came across as considerably more developed than the 2007. (The bottle was bought when new and has been stored well.)

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• 2005 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Château d'Ampuis 93 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Medium red, rather compact colour, slightly faded edge. Nose with ripe blackberries and ripe strawberries, some animal notes, slightly flowery with violets and a hint of mint. A rather powerful nose that goes somewhat in the sweet direction. Palate with ripe blackberries, quite dark fruit, notes of tar, good concentration, good acidity, medium+ tannins, tannic aftertaste. Concentrated style, slightly developed but definitely not ready, should be allowed more time in the cellar, 93(+) p.
  In the nose, 2005 and 2003 were rather similar, but on the palate they differ quite a lot. On the palate, 2005 showed the darkest notes of all the vintages, although the concentration of fruit felt greater in the 2009. Perhaps the 2005 may become a better wine than 2009 at full maturity, since it shows great concentration without too much sweet fruit, which gives it the potential for perfect balance some time in the future.

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• 2003 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Château d'Ampuis 91 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Medium red, rather compact colour, slightly faded edge. Nose with ripe blackberries and ripe strawberries, slightly sweet nose, some eucalyptus, sightly flowery with hyacinth. Palate with ripe dark berries, slightly sweet note of berries, somewhat fiery with alcohol feeling, very peppery, medium+ tannins, tannic and slightly fiery aftertaste. A powerful wine, but not quite balanced, and I don't think that is going to get corrected with more cellaring, 91 p.
  It is a good wine, but it is a Shiraz rather than a Syrah, and therefore it doesn't quite fit into the company. It is the only Ampuis vintage where I specifically noted that the alcohol made itself felt. It confirms my general impression of 2003s from many classical European wine regions; in my opinion the wines seldom live up to the high scores awarded directly upon release by many critics.

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Château d'Ampuis definitely demonstrated its high class, and that it develops well at least to 10-15 years of age, with a forecast of 20+ years for the greatest vintages. The wines do vary significantly in style between vintages, but they definitely show a common Guigal character. We had the impression that the more recent vintages of the wine may have become even more concentrated and larger-sized, even when we try to compensate for the general vintage character.