Guigal Hermitage Vertical

Palo Alto
Tasted Wednesday, March 19, 2014 by aagrawal with 443 views

Introduction

This was a very intriguing vertical tasting of Guigal Hermitage, which I hadn't tried before. Given the strength of some of the northern Rhone I have tried in the past (Chave Hermitage is what I'm thinking of), this doesn't live up to expectations of that. There were a handful of wines that were very enjoyable, but at least about half were poor overall and most of the rest were average at best. They seemed decent enough, but lacked the incredible complexity of savory aromas that the best Northern Rhone wines can have. That said, I also strongly preferred the wines with the most age, though I think those also just showed much better for whatever reason, so that may only have tangential association with age.

Flight 1 - Pre-wines (2 Notes)

These wines were all tasted blind.

Flight 2 - Guigal Hermitage (8 Notes)

These wines were all tasted blind.

  • 1978 E. Guigal Hermitage 92 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    Great fruit, almost a bit of floral, a bit of dust, very nice; full bodied with great acidity on the palate, fresh, middle aged, would go really well with food. Excellent balance. 92-93. My #2, Group's #2.

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  • 1980 E. Guigal Hermitage 93 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    Dense black fruit, smoky, youthful and complex; palate is full bodied, youthful, silky texture, blackberry fruit; fruity, silky finish. Young, very nice. 93. My #1, Group's #1.

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  • 1982 E. Guigal Hermitage 84 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    Nose is a bit shrill, lacking in fruit, bare shell of what it was; palate is a bit acidic, slightly oxidized. 84. My #6, Group's #6.

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  • 1983 E. Guigal Hermitage 90 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    Young nose, very well balanced, smells like it needs time, fresh, doesn't yet have meaty complexity but dense fruit; ripe young youthful fruit; finish is slightly drying. I think the 2003. 90. My #5, Group's #4.

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  • 1985 E. Guigal Hermitage 91 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    Funky, slight Brett, youthful, lots of fruit but good complexity too; full bodied, great acidity, but falls a bit flat on the palate. 91. My #3, Group's #8. Most of the people in the group thought it was corked, but it didn't strike me. Lots of brett, yes, but not corked.

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  • 1988 E. Guigal Hermitage 91 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    Meaty, spicy nose, fully aged, blackberry and red fruit, complex; palate is full bodied, balanced, a bit thin through the midpalate but generally pretty good. 90-91. Nose is better than palate. My #4, Group's #3.

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  • 2000 E. Guigal Hermitage 82 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    Very Bretty, lacking in fruit; full bodied, drying in the midpalate. Flat flavor, high alcohol. 82. My #8, Group's #7.

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  • 2003 E. Guigal Hermitage 83 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    Chewy red fruit, cranberry, pomegranate; palate is similar, red pomegranate, too acidic, unbalanced. Not flawed, though maybe a bit oxidized. 83. My #7, Group's #5.

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Flight 3 - Post-wines (1 Note)

This wine was tasted blind. Not my style.

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