The 2024 Wine Spectator New York Wine Experience concluded with a grand finale seminar with E. Guigal third-generation winemaker Philippe Guigal, highlighting his iconic “La La” wines and the world premiere reveal of the new La Reynarde cuvée!
The conversation between Wine Spectator Senior Editor Kristen Bieler and Philippe flowed beautifully. They provided the audience with context on the three La La wines, which come from vertiginous vineyards in Côte-Rotie, noting that the Guigals only rarely add a new cuvée to the lineup – when the family acquires or plants a distinctive new vineyard site. The first La La is La Mouline, which debuted with the 1966 vintage. La Landonne arrived with the 1978 vintage, and its source is a vineyard planted to celebrate Philippe Guigal’s birth. La Turque was launched with the 1985 vintage. And attendees were in for a special treat at what they learned next…
Bieler reported, a fourth La LA – La Reynarde – is on its way. “Named after the stream running between the Côte Brune and Côte Blonde lieux-dits, its vineyard (on the Brune side) was planted in stages starting in 2010 to commemorate the birth of Guigal’s twin sons. The wine won’t debut until 2026, with the 2022 vintage, which is when all the plantings had reached maturity. But, in a singular moment, Guigal treated the Wine Experience audience to a preview of La Reynarde from the 2020 vintage, alongside the three other wines.” This was a historical moment for everyone in the room!
Read the full story HERE to see in depth tasting notes of La Mouline 2020 (96pts), La Turque 2020 (96pts), the seminar exclusive La Reynarde 2020, and La Landonne 2020(97pts).
Kristen closed the piece noting “the foremost element of the La Las is a sense of place. Tasting this preview of La Reynarde was like watching an early cut of a movie or listening to a practice recording of a song, yet it was surprisingly characterful and expressive, as Guigal pointed out: What I find amazing about this wine is that it is made from [vines] that are four and five years old. [Its character] cannot come from the age of the vines. It can only come from the quality of the terroir.”
E. Guigal_Wine Spectator_10.30.24 (1)Related Wines
E. Guigal
E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne 2020
Côte-Rôtie
One of the three “LaLa” wines that Guigal produces and are the most collectible wines of the Rhone Valley, La Landonne is a remarkable expression of terroir. And for good reason, La Landonne is situated on one of the steepest vineyards of the Côte Brune, a 45 degree slope that remarkably requires harvesters to start picking from the bottom of the vineyard and work their way up, placing grape bunches in bins that are set on sleds and dragged up the hill. Along with its position at the northern end of the Côte Brune and the fact it is the last vineyard to ripen, La Landonne is the mirror of the feminine and voluptuous La Mouline: it is a wine of driving power, defined by its dark fruit and structure. The first vintage Guigal produced was in 1978, after being planted in 1975 at the time of Philippe Guigal’s birth.
E. Guigal
E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque 2020
Côte-Rôtie
La Turque is Guigal's most recent addition to the single-vineyard Cru Côte-Rôties, coming over as part of their purchase of the Vidal-Fleury firm in 1980. La Turque had produced outstanding wines in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but had not been used for wine production for nearly 50 years. The Guigals acquired the vineyard and re-planted it in 1980 and 1981, based on Etienne Guigal's memory of the quality of the wines it produced during his tenure at Vidal-Fleury. The first vintage was the magnificent 1985. In both position and style, it sits between La Mouline and La Landonne: the complex soils lend an exotic character to La Turque, and its concentration and elegance exhibit the virility of the Côte Brune with the subtlety and femininity of the Côte Blonde.
E. Guigal
E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Mouline 2020
Côte-Rôtie
First planted by the Romans 2,500 years ago, La Mouline is the oldest and most famous vineyard of Cote-Rotie, and Guigal's single vineyard bottling of La Mouline in the 1960s set off a quality revolution throughout the Rhone Valley. The stunning amphitheater is the most complex plot in Cote-Rotie due to its extremely steep slopes with expositions in every direction. Of the three famous “LaLas” that Guigal produces and are the most collectible wines of the Rhone Valley, La Mouline was the first and is the only one on the Cote Blonde, and its signature is an unbelievable exoticism, an irresistibly and unique lifted floral , black fruit, earthy, spicy perfume, its coiled power always in balance, seemingly endless.
Related Producers
E. Guigal
Rhône Valley, France
The more you learn about the Guigal family, the more astounding becomes their story. Their wines are the benchmarks for every Rhône appellation, and over the last thirty years they have become arguably the most lauded producer in the world. Year after year the Guigal family produces wines of exceptional quality that in all classes offer exceptional value.