1995 Hermitage

Following the construction of a huge new winemaking facility in 1993, Marcel Guigal quickly found that he was once again running out of space-not just for barrel storage but for bottling and labeling wines fast enough to keep up with worldwide demand for his wines. So Guigal is building yet another facility adjacent to the new one. On my recent visit, I tasted at length with Guigal son Philippe, who recently joined his father full-time following the completion of his wine studies and several stages in Bordeaux, California and Australia. Guigal's habit of late harvesting has clearly worked to his favor in '96 and '97; his cru bottlings of Cote-Rotie will be at the top of their respective vintages (even if the '96s were difficult to taste in early December).