E. Guigal
Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2016
Chateauneuf-du-Pape
Guigal produces an intensely concentrated, inviting and complex Châteauneuf-du-Pape that is almost unique to the region today. Their passion for Châteauneuf, the leading appellation of the Southern Rhône, runs as deeply as that for their home sites in the Northern Rhône. The combination of working with top fruit that has perfect ripeness, along with their extraordinary patience in the cellar, results in rich and full, yet savory, spicy, seamless and balanced wines. Wines to enjoy immediately but capable of aging, and, above all, wines that leave you wanting more.
Vineyard
Composed of old-vine Grenache (70%), Mourvèdre (15%), Syrah (10%), and the balance of traditional grapes of the appellation. The vines average 50 years of age and are planted on the unique rocky alluvial (the famous “galets”) and red clay soils of the area.
While the Guigals grow and purchase fruit in the Northern Rhône, because they cannot be on site in the Southern Rhône they purchase wines as soon as possible after harvest, often before malolactic conversion is finished. They look for wines of depth, balance and, above all, the ability to age and become great wines.
Winemaking
The Guigals age their wine far longer than almost anyone in the appellation, allowing it to develop complexity of flavor and texture, and making for an outstanding drinking experience on release. The wine undergoes a traditional vinification, temperature controlled fermentation and maceration for nearly 3 weeks. The blended wines spend 3 years in large oak foudres followed by extended bottle aging.
Vintage
The 2016 vintage to the Southern Rhône Valley is akin to the absolutely outstanding 2015 in the North. There was an extended growing season, which provided freshness in the Grenache and the ripeness in the Mourvedre.
Cool nights during the Indian summer helped to ensure the success of the Grenache fruit, which can easily become overripe and imbue alcoholic characteristics. Similarly, the long growing season helped to slow down the ripening of Mourvedre, an important blending partner in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape wine.
Tasting Note
A deep, dark and dense red color. The nose is full of spice and red berries – even notes of jam. On the palate, the wine is complex and powerful, with round tannins and notes of ripe plum, peppery herbs and cherry stone. Overall, an ample, rich wine that manages to maintain purity.
Color
Red
Grape Varieties
Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah
Appellation
Chateauneuf-du-Pape
Alcohol
14.5%
Suggested Retail Price
$57.00
Reviews
"Terrific purity and elegance"
Jeb Dunnuck - March 28, 2019 “From one of the great vintages for the region going back decades, the 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape boasts a deep, layered, powerful style yet has terrific purity and elegance. Notes of black raspberries, scorched earth, and peppery herbs all emerge from this promising, seriously endowed barrel sample that’s going to be well worth your time and money.”
"Solidly built"
Wine Spectator - September 12, 2019 "Solidly built, featuring cherry and plum paste notes, laced with stony minerality, tobacco and garrigue accents. This has grip but remains well-integrated, ending with subtle persistence on the cedar-tinged finish."
"Attractive purity of fruit"
James Suckling - October 30, 2019 "A fresh, dark-cherry and stone nose with attractive purity of fruit here. The palate has a very succulent, quite grainy and deeply ripe feel with a super rich, concentrated and bold serving of ripe dark plums and blackberries. Tar to close. Impressive. Drink or hold."
Reviews
More on E. Guigal Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2016
Old Reliable: Rhône Mainstay E. Guigal’s 2017 Vintage
March 28, 2019 - Summarizing James Molesworth's latest Wine Spectator feature on E. Guigal's 2017 vintage would not do it justice. We highly encourage you to read through the detailed article, which features several…
Trade Materials
Other Wines by this Producer
Saint Joseph Vignes de l’Hospice
Saint-Joseph
Guigal’s Vignes de l’Hospice is one of the finest sites in the Northern Rhone Valley. This steeply terraced vineyard used to be divided into three, but Guigal now owns majority of this parcel in order to restore perception of Saint-Joseph as an appellation of utmost quality. In fact, Guigal is often asked when they will produce a fourth “LaLa,” and their response is that their fourth single vineyard phenomenon of the Northern Rhone is already being produced: the Vignes de l’Hospice.
Côte-Rôtie La Landonne
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.
Côte-Rôtie La Turque
Côte-Rôtie
Of the three famous single-vineyard “LaLas” that Guigal produces and are the most collectible wines of the Rhone Valley, La Turque is the newest. This vineyard produced outstanding wines in the first half of the 20th century, but then was not 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 once produced. The first vintage appeared in 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.
Côte-Rôtie La Mouline
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.
Ermitage Ex Voto Rouge
Hermitage
Ermitage Ex-Voto represents the fulfillment of a longtime dream of Marcel Guigal’s to own vineyard land on the hill of Hermitage. Through the purchase of the de Vallouit and J. L. Grippat domaines in 2000, Guigal acquired four exceptional vineyard parcels on this legendary site. The 2001 vintage was the first release of this estate-bottled Hermitage red and white. The quality of the intense old-vine fruit is quite special, but given the Guigal’s already strong work in Hermitage, they decided to only release an Ex-Voto red or white when the wine is utterly exceptional and clearly superior to their appellation bottlings.
Ermitage Ex Voto Blanc
Hermitage
Ermitage Ex-Voto represents the fulfillment of a longtime dream of Marcel Guigal’s to own vineyard land on the hill of Hermitage. Through the purchase of the de Vallouit and J. L. Grippat domaines in 2000, Guigal acquired four exceptional vineyard parcels on this legendary site. The 2001 vintage was the first release of this estate-bottled Hermitage red and white. The quality of the intense old-vine fruit is quite special, but given the Guigal’s already strong work in Hermitage, they decided to only release an Ex-Voto red or white when the wine is utterly exceptional and clearly superior to their appellation bottlings.
Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc
Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Guigal produces an intensely concentrated, inviting and complex Châteauneuf-du-Pape that is almost unique to the region today. Their passion for Châteauneuf, the leading appellation of the Southern Rhône, runs as deeply as that for their home sites in the Northern Rhône. The combination of working with top fruit that has perfect ripeness, along with their extraordinary patience in the cellar, results in rich and full, yet savory, spicy, seamless and balanced wines. Wines to enjoy immediately but capable of aging, and, above all, wines that leave you wanting more.
Hermitage Blanc
Hermitage
Whites make up a small percentage of production in the Rhône, under 2%, but white wines are a little bit of a secret specialty at Guigal and today comprise 25% of their production. And for good reason, as the whites of the Northern Rhône are true discovery wines, immensely appealing and complex. They specifically display an expressiveness and brightness while also capturing the warmth of the area. Even more of a discovery is Hermitage Blanc, one of the least-known yet most intriguing wines of the Rhône Valley and in the small 309 acre Hermitage AOC.
Hermitage
Hermitage
Hermitage is one of France’s most spectacular and famous appellations, producing small quantities of extraordinarily intense and ageworthy red wine and tiny amounts of dry white. The entire vineyard consists of 309 acres planted on a single granite hillside on the banks of the Rhône. The Hermitage Rouge is the example of a racy wine, that manages to remain seductive.
Condrieu La Doriane
Condrieu
La Doriane is a luxury cuvée of Condrieu that the Guigals have produced since the 1994 vintage. A great success since the first vintage, the wine always seems richly oaked and very fruity when young, transforming in 3-4 years into a seamlessly complex, aromatic and vibrant wine. La Doriane contradicts the accepted wisdom that Condrieu does not age well.