Far be it for us to play the same tune as we did earlier this month but the latest reds (and whites) from the Guigal family are such exceptional wines that we wanted to share the reasons why, as a group of lucky Wellingtonians (including the team here at Regional) tasted mid October.

Guigal is one of the world’s top 10 best known wine brands and is run by 20 full time people, including many extremely dedicated family members. There are over 850 growers also working, both directly and indirectly for the company, growing a vast volume of grapes, which go towards making the four million bottles of flagship Guigal Cotes du Rhone Rouge each year. This impressive volume of production is done without external input, other than purchased grapes from those growers. The best thing about this mighty volume of wine is that it has benefited from many incremental steps of quality improvement over the decades. These include the inclusion of a higher proportion of  Syrah than a typical Cotes du Rhone, with 55% of the blend now Syrah (higher than in the past), which is softened by Grenache and, as of a clever decision made at some stage in the past 15 years, a small but consistent component of Mourvèdre. This adds complexity, depth of colour and firm smooth tannins to the wine. 

As with all good things, time is a big factor in the process of creation and the three years minimum ageing in Guigal’s wine cellars gives this red its softness, transforming Syrah's impressive youthful tannins into something approachable and delicious when the wine is released. This is why the current vintage is 2019...

Buy 2019 Guigal Cotes du Rhone Rouge here  

RRP $28.99  / Special $24.99

2021 Guigal Cotes du Rhone Blanc

• Viognier adds rich peachy flavours and is 50% of this wine
• The key to freshness in this wine is the addition of Bourboulenc and Clairette – two French white grapes that add acidity and freshness

2021 Chateau d’Aqueria Cotes du Rhone Esprit Rouge

2019 Guigal Cotes du Rhone Rouge

• One of the world’s top 10 best known wine brands
• Three years minimum ageing in Guigal’s wine cellars in Ampuis in the northern Rhone
• 4,000,000 bottles of this wine are made in a good year
• This means there are about 12 million bottles of this wine in Guigal’s cellars at any one time, either being fermented or maturing
• 850 grape growers provide grapes to go into this blend
• All of the fermentation and production is done by the Guigal family
• No wines are bought in to supplement production
• The blend is approximately 55% Syrah with smaller proportions of Grenache and Mourvedre to add roundness to the wine