Guigal Saint-Joseph Rouge 2019
- Vinous
-
Wine
Enthusiast -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Dark red with violet tints. Powerful nose dominated by red berries and delicate oak aromas. Powerful attack. Round and supple tannins.
Pair with red meat and cheese.
Professional Ratings
-
Vinous
Dark, brilliant ruby. Pungent black raspberry and cherry aromas are complemented by floral, olive and baking spice nuances. Smooth and expansive on the palate, offering spice-tinged red and blue fruit preserve, licorice and allspice flavors that show fine delineation and mineral lift. Juicy and subtly chewy in texture, finishing with resonating blue fruit and spice character; tannins slowly emerge.
-
Wine Enthusiast
Fresh aromas of concentrated red fruit framed by licorice and blackberries, followed by a brambly layer fill the glass. Brooding dark fruit generously coats the palate, balanced by its refreshing cut of acidity. Approachable now, but best to cellar well through 2028+ before revisiting.
-
Jeb Dunnuck
From the southern part of the appellation and brought up all in used oak, the 2019 Saint Joseph is another ripe, sunny, textured beauty. Red and black fruits, ground pepper, and spice as well as medium-bodied richness and sweet tannins all make for a terrific Saint-Joseph. It will keep for a decade as well.
-
James Suckling
Aromas of sliced plums, sage and bay leaf. Medium-bodied with silky tannins. Juicy and succulent red fruit with lovely freshness and subtle ground spice.
-
Wine Spectator
Juicy and direct, with an open-knit core of bitter plum and red cherry notes laced with singed balsam wood, red tea and savory accents.
Other Vintages
2010-
Wine
Spectator -
Wine &
Spirits
-
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker
-
Wine &
Spirits -
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker
-
Robert
Parker
The Guigal domain was founded in 1946 by Etienne Guigal in the ancient village of Ampuis, home of the wines of the Côte-Rôtie. In these vineyards that are over 2400 years old, you can still see the small terraced walls characteristic of the Roman period. Etienne Guigal arrived in this region in 1923 at the age of 14. He made wine for over 67 vintages and, at the beginning of his career, participated in the development of the Vidal-Fleury establishment.
Despite his young age, Marcel Guigal took over from his father in 1961 when the latter was victim to a brutal illness rendering him blind. Marcel's hard work and perseverance enabled the Guigals to buy out Vidal-Fleury in 1984, although the establishment retains its own identity and commercial autonomy. In 2000, the Guigals purchased the Jean-Louis Grippat estate in Saint-Joseph and Hermitage, as well as the Domaine de Vallouit in Côte-Rôtie, Hermitage, Saint-Joseph and Crozes-Hermitage.
In the cellars of the Guigal estate in Ampuis, the northern appellations of the Rhône Valley are produced and aged. These are the appellations of Côte-Rôtie, Condrieu, Hermitage, Saint-Joseph and Crozes-Hermitage. The great appellations of the Southern Rhône, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, Tavel and Côtes-du-Rhône, are also aged in the Ampuis cellars.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
Spanning the longest stretch of river in the northern Rhône—from Condrieu in the north, to Cornas in the south—the heart of St.-Joseph lies directly across the Rhône River from Hermitage. While its soils are basically the same as Hermitage: granite, supplemented by sand and gravel, its east facing slope receives less sunlight than Hermitage, which causes less overall berry ripening on its Syrah vines. However, some of the best of them can rival any fine expression of Hermitage, Cote-Rotie or Cornas with concentrated black fruits, dark spices, crushed rock and violets. A general advantage of the region is that its Syrahs typically don’t need as much time in the bottle compared to a Cote-Rotie or Hermitage and are much easier on the bank account!
A textbook St.-Joseph red is firm with a core of minerality that is enhanced by savory and peppery qualities. Aromas and flavors of smoke, olives, herbs, and violets are common; its wines are dense in red and black fruit.
St.-Joseph is also a source of fine northern Rhône white wine. Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne grow well here and can be blended or made into single varietal wines. St.-Joseph whites are full and silky with citrus, pear and pineapple flavors and a rich bouquet reminiscent of honeysuckle, toasted nuts, spice and caramel.