2005 | E. Guigal | Saint-Joseph Vignes de L'Hospice

Inky ruby. Remarkably floral bouquet of strawberry, blackberry and kirsch, with lovely rose and violet building in the glass. Stains the palate with sweet red and dark berry liqueur flavors, picking up exotic floral pastilles with air. Becomes more stony and vibrant on the long, zesty finish, which echoes the red fruit flavors.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: Reminiscent of the 2010, yet more detailed and focused, the 2005 Saint Joseph Vignes des Hospice boasts fabulous creme de cassis, blackberry, licorice, burning ember and smoke to go with a full-bodied, serious, backward, concentrated and thrillingly structured profile. The purity, balance and overall class here is off-the-charts. In need of another 2-3 years to start to round into form, it will see its 25th birthday in fine form.

• Wine Spectator: Shows a modern kiss of toast up front, but it quickly melds into the fleshy currant, fig and hoisin sauce notes, which are followed by cocoa and violet. The nicely rounded finish shows superb length and balance. Best from 2009 through 2014. 800 cases made.

Producer Information

E. Guigal is one of the most notable wine producers in the Rhône Valley. It was founded in 1946 by Etienne Guigal in Ampuis – where the headquarters remain to this day – on the western banks of the Rhône river, a stone's throw from the famous sun-roasted slopes of the Côte Rôtie, and Guigal's flagship wines, the famous "LaLa"s: La Landonne, La Mouline and La Turque. Guigal has a long history of winegrowing, and today the company hold plots throughout the nothern and southern Rhône and produces wines from classic northern Rhône and Mediterranean varieties including Grenache, Mourvèdre, Viognier and Roussanne, although the focus has always been on Syrah and the Côte Rôtie. The company's sizeable holdings include the likes of Saint-Joseph, Hermitage, Gigondas, Condrieu and Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and wines are made from each, often labeled simply by their appellation title – a format that runs into the more affordable Côtes du Rhône range (which can be found in red, white and rosé form). Nonetheless, Guigal's most notable wines – La Landonne, La Turque and La Mouline – are all from the northern Rhône's Côte Rôtie, and are some of the most sought-after wines in the region. In fact, all three have had 100-point Robert Parker scores across multiple vintages. La Mouline and La Turque are both Syrah – Viognier blends from vines with an age of up to 75 years old. Both spend around 42 months in new oak before release and are dense and aromatic. La Landonne is 100 percent Syrah, from 40-year-old vines, and spends a similar amount of time in oak. A fourth Côte Rôtie wine, Château d'Ampuis, is named for an impressive historical estate in Ampuis acquired by Guigal in 1995 and, although part of the more stellar offerings of the producer, has yet to acquire the esteem of its three LaLa stablemates. As well as a more formal dry offering, Guigal also makes a late-harvest dessert wine from Viognier in the Condrieu appellation. Dubbed Luminescence, this wine is only made in exceptional vintages, and has previously been the victim of theft: in the excellent 2015 vintage, a third of the grapes were harvested without the knowledge of the winemakers.

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