2006 Côte-Rôtie La Turque

It was important to watch for ripeness in 2009, said Philippe Guigal, "or you ran the danger of your sugars taking off, especially with viognier." He pointed out that only 2% of the production of the Rhone Valley is white wine but that white represents 25% of Guigal's production, "which is pretty funny when you consider how we are identified with Cote-Rotie." Guigal sells an enormous quantity of wine to Japan, but Philippe told me that "contrary to what that might suggest, our wines-and Rhone whites in general-are not very good matches with lighter seafood or, especially, shellfish. They're too rich and too creamy to go well with delicate fish and mollusks. With lobster, crab or rich fish like halibut, salmon or even turbot in a buttery sauce it's another story." Guigal said that he is "starting to think that 2007 is going to turn out a lot better for syrah than we expected. The wines are putting on weight and developing structure that we didn't anticipate. They actually aren't so gentle so maybe they're going to surprise us with their ability to age."

The Guigals were so unimpressed by the quality of the fruit they were offered from the southern Rhone in 2008 that they decided not to make any red wines from this region, Philippe Guigal told me. "The fruit was simply too fragile," said Guigal, "and we weren't confident that it would stand up to our type of elevage, which we like to extend." This means that there will be no 2008 red Cotes du Rhone for the first time since 1992. Guigal is impressed by the "flexibility" of 2007. "The fruit is up front, there's enough acidity to give the wines the balance for aging, yet the tannins are soft enough that they can be drunk young." Guigal told me that he is liking 2006 more and more "because the wines are very spicy and floral, and have real integrity, balance and precision. They aren't powerful like the '05s, but they'll live a long time on their balance. People forget that elegant wines can often outlive the big guys." The just-bottled 2006 Cote-Rotie Brune et Blonde wasn't in a state for tasting when I visited Guigal at the beginning of November so I will report on this wine next year.

The big news at Guigal this year was the recent acquisition of a half hectare of vines in Condrieu's prized Chery vineyard. In the 2008 vintage this fruit will go into Guigal's La Doriane bottling, and Philippe Guigal believes it will add an extra dimension of finesse to the wine. On the subject of reds, Guigal describes 2007 as "a rich, generous vintage that will be approachable young but has the depth and balance to age. " He added that the 2005s will need at least as much time as the 1978s. "I can't imagine them giving much pleasure before they are at least a decade old. " The 2006s, he reiterated, "will be long-lived, which might surprise people who are seduced by all their fruit right now. " The grapes for this estate's red wines have only been completely destemmed once, in 2002, which no doubt contributes to their complex, intensely spicy bouquets. Incidentally, 2004 was the first vintage in which the Guigals used only their own house-made barriques. (Ex-Cellars Wine Agencies, Solvang, CA) Also recommended: 2007 Cotes du Rhone Blanc (87), 2007 Cotes du Rhone Rose (86), 2007 Tavel Rose (87).

The latest technological marvel added to the Guigal fortress is a device that features rising and swinging hydraulic arms with suction cups that pick up a set number of bottles and quickly but gently set them into layers inside cases, sending them down a conveyor belt and ultimately neatly taping the boxes shut and kicking them off the line. The entire process takes about ten seconds per box, which must be a good thing for an operation that sells close to six million bottles a year, all of it raised and bottled under this enormous roof. Then there's the now-completed cellar across the Route Nationale, bigger than a football field, which houses the stainless steel tanks for Guigal's Cotes du Rhones. You find yourself wondering if you've been transported to the Central Valley-of Chile or California-until you realize that this is a family company, run by a mere three members, at least two of whom are rarely out of your sight during a four-hour visit. As for the wines, Philippe Guigal is very pleased with his 2006 whites. He describes them as "elegant, precise and very well balanced, with plenty of immediate appeal but the capacity to age." The 2005s, he adds, will benefit from patience. "The 2006 reds in the north will surprise people with their ability to age," he told me. "Sure, 2005 is the vintage you'll want to put away, and the 2006s will mature more quickly, but 2006 has a lot to offer both early and later."