2018 | E. Guigal | Ermitage Ex-Voto Blanc

Revealing a light gold hue as well as notes of quince, honeyed minerality, toasted spices, orange marmalade, and spring flowers, this deep, rich, and full-bodied white has absorbed just about every trace of its oak élevage and has a concentrated, rich, yet focused and lengthy style. This cuvée had a more oaky, opulent style in the past, but today it comes across as a much more pure, elegant wine while not giving an inch with regard to density, texture, and concentration. As with just about every top Hermitage Blanc today, this offers plenty of immediate pleasure with its pure, fresh, mineral-laced style.

Reviews:

• Decanter: Full-bodied and rounded, with firm acidity and salinity. The oak has taken over at this early stage and will always be quite dominant, however the fruit is deep and should harmonise with the wood in time. Very long and ending with butterscotch and quince, the élevage will always be a strong feature of the wine, but the depth is there for long ageing.

• James Suckling: A lovely perfumed nose of flint, grilled lemons, hay and pears. Full-bodied with silky texture. Deep and layered. Baked citrus and toasted garden herbs with some lovely notes of beeswax and sliced almond. Succulent. It keeps going. Terrific.

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.

DISCLAIMER** This is a single item listing unless otherwise noted in the description. Retailer advises either in stock or in route to their location. Usually ships within one to four business days. Longer processing times may occur especially around holiday(s). Some items may become backordered or delayed without notice due to demand & will ship out upon arrival. Overseas 700ml products typically have longer processing/transit times. You can always verify product availability by calling 1-888-548-0333. Please refer to our cancellations & returns agreement or reach out to our support team at help@caskcartel.com for any additional questions.

Our dedicated team specializes in creating personalized shopping experiences. If you’re looking for a specific item or collection that isn’t appearing on our marketplace, please reach out to us at concierge@caskcartel.com or fill out the product inquiry form and one of our dedicated team members will be in touch.  Whether it’s a product you’ve experienced while traveling or a rare, hard to find item you’ve been searching for, we have an established global network of retailers with the ability to locate and source the rarest and hardest to find products.