1998 Côte-Rôtie La Landonne

Philippe Guigal provided stark evidence of thex000D difficulty of the 2002 harvest for Rhone Valley growers. Because of the rain and thex000D possibility of quickly spreading rot we moved up our harvest dates three orx000D four times, then picked everything in an amazingly short window," he toldx000D me. All of the Guigals' Cote-Rotiex000D fruit was in by September 20, even the grapes destined for the family's fabledx000D La-La wines. Fruit sugars reached 11.5%x000D for syrah, according to Philippe, but 13.8% for the Condrieu Doriane. There was much less rot in thex000D viognier vines, even in the same parcels as syrah," he added. Guigal fans will not want to miss thex000D house's sensational 1999 Cote-Rotie special cuvees, which will be shipped inx000D late winter.

Marcel Guigal, the locomotive of the Northern Rhone Valley, has added another couple of cars to his train with the purchase of the Jean-Louis Grippat domain and the house of de Vallouit, both deals consummated in 2001. Following the permission granted by authorities to use the lieu-dit Saint-Joseph to distinguish the wine made from Grippat's prime holding at the original heart of the appellation, Guigal will offer no fewer than three red Saint-Joseph bottlings beginning with vintage '99. Guigal also picked up Hermitage vines through both purchases; previously he owned no vines in this appellation. Also beginning with the '99 vintage, there will be a negociant bottling of Crozes-Hermitage, made entirely from hillside fruit. My meeting this year with Marcel's son Philippe climaxed, as always, with a barrel tasting of three vintages of Guigal's fabled Cote-Roties La Mouline, La Turque and La Landonne, always a highlight of my annual Rhone Valley tour.

According to Philippe Guigal, the fruit in Cote-Rotie ripened ahead of Hermitage in '99, an infrequent occurrence that may have had something to do with the timing and extent of late summer rains. As a result, the harvest generally started later in Hermitage, and some growers were affected by a soaking rainstorm on September 25. Guigal Cote-Rotie crus from this vintage, however, were picked at glorious levels of ripeness. Though still more than two years short of bottling, they are some of the most exciting unfinished red wines I've ever tasted. Another standout of my annual tasting chez Guigal was the 1998 Hermitage; I sampled the major components of this unfinished wine and came away convinced that it would be Guigal's strongest Hermitage since the great '90.

The Guigals recently completed yet another major expansion of their winemaking facility and with the purchase of some state-of-the-art bottling equipment can now produce magnums for the first time. Still, said Philippe Guigal, they will be extremely hesitant to make magnums of La Mouline, La Landonne or La Turque, as demand for these bottles already far exceeds their supply. The Guigals, who tend to release wines later than most of their Rhone Valley colleagues and usually bring out new vintages in October, had just released several '96s from major appellations (Hermitage, Cote-Rotie, Chateauneuf du Pape and Gigondas). While these wines were distinctly higher in acidity and more tightly wrapped than most of the '97s and '98s I was tasting on my recent trip, they were consistently stylish and aromatically intriguing. The '96 cru bottlings, still in barrel in November, boast richness that transcends this rather "northern" vintage, thanks to late harvesting that lasted until the middle of October.