2011 Côte-Rôtie La Turque

I continue to be amazed at the consistent quality of the Guigal family’s massive production, led by their Côtes-du-Rhône at an incredible 3,500,000 bottles in an average vintage. Philippe Guigal said he thinks "the brightness, energy and expressive fruit" of the 2013s will make the wines “very pleasant to drink on the young side," but that same freshness will also allow the wines to “age extremely well on their balance." An opposing situation exists for the 2014s, which, he says, have "round, rich, darker fruit" that will make them delicious, in a more powerful and even decadent way, soon after release.

Philippe Guigal was distinctly under the weather when I came to see him the week before Christmas and he insisted that we conduct our tasting "from as far away from each other as possible" lest I get anything even remotely similar to whatever mutation of flu was attacking him. Under the circumstances he was surprisingly animated as he discussed recent vintages and their triumphs and travails. He said that 2013 was a vintage of mixed blessings because on the one hand demand has never been higher but on the other production was down dramatically, "so you can't win." It was an especially tough year for Grenache in the south, he said, which means that, as in 2011, there will be more Syrah than normal in their wildly successful and widely available Côtes-du-Rhône. Guigal calls 2012 "a pretty much perfect year for a winery because the wines are very appealing young but have the material to age, so everybody can be happy." The 2011s, he thinks, will be appreciated by "those who appreciate the differences of terroir because the distinctions from appellation to appellation and vineyard to vineyard are very clear, unlike in riper years." The '11s will likely be best over the short to medium term, in his estimation, "but they have the balance to surprise you" if you choose to let them rest for a bit. On the subject of 2010, Guigal shrugged his shoulders and said, "well, we know what happened there, right? A great, great year for the patient, not so much if you want to drink them young."