E. Guigal

Côtes du Rhône Rosé 2020

Côtes du Rhône

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The Guigal family has made serious dry rosé wines since the 1940s, and their Côtes du Rhône Rosé, like all their Côtes du Rhône wines, is humble in name only. The wine bursts with irresistible fresh red fruits and yet is also serious and satisfying.  While this Rosé is always a lovely aperitif, its intensity and richness make it perfect for the table, and it pairs well with all manner of cuisines.  And starting with the 2020 vintage, the wine has a stunning new proprietary bottle: a subtle enhancement for an already elegant wine!

Vineyard

The Guigals work with fruit specifically grown to maker superior rosé wines. These vineyards consist of clay, limestone and alluvial soils. The 2020 is comprised of 70% Grenache, 20% Cinsault and 10% Syrah. Yields in these vineyards are a low 2.3 tons per acre and the vine average age is 25 years.

Winemaking

The handling in the winery is to create a wine of complex flavors, texture and structure. The wine, in fact, is handled in the same way as their far more limited Tavel wine, the single top appellation in France for rosé. The key is a masterful maceration followed by a long, cool fermentation that, because of the quality of the grapes, brings an array of fruit, mineral and even a touch of spice notes, as well as both an appetizing freshness and a frame that carries the wine along.

Vintage

2020 is another excellent vintage for the Rhône Valley, and it is a particularly fine vintage for Rosé wines! Another dry spring was followed by a moderate summer featuring, this time without the extreme heat spikes of 2019. Harvest occurred early – particularly for whites and Rosés – but the weather was even and temperate throughout. The grapes were ripe and concentrated with superb natural acidity – superb raw materials for exceptional rosés. The wines are rich, balanced, and expressive.

Tasting Note

The 2020 Côtes du Rhône Rosé is fresh and full of energy, with explosive aromatic notes of spring flowers, melons, and herbs. The wine is rich on the palate, with complex flavors of red fruits, baking spices, and pastilles, all balanced by perfectly ripe acidity. Exceptional!

Color

Rose

Grape Varieties

Cinsault, Grenache, Syrah

Appellation

Côtes du Rhône

Farming

Guigal uses only environmentally sustainable methods of pest, disease and weed control. They work to conserve biological diversity, water resources, soils and ecosystems on their land. Packaging materials are recyclable or biodegradable. Lastly, they are committed to achieving a zero waste target.

Alcohol

13.5%

Suggested Retail Price

$19

Reviews

"Full-bodied but refreshing"

Wine Enthusiast - July 6, 2021

"Raspberry and bramble notes are delicate on the nose but intensify on the palate of this juicy, watermelon-kissed wine. A deep salmon-pink in color, it’s a full-bodied but refreshing dry wine that finishes on a lingering note of sour-cherry pastille." - A.I.

More on E. Guigal Côtes du Rhône Rosé 2020

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Trade Materials

Other Wines by this Producer

Côtes du Rhône Rouge

Given that this particular wine can be the introduction to the entire Rhône Valley for a drinker, as well as the position they occupy in the Rhône, it is not enough for the Guigals to make a good Côtes du Rhône. They are relentlessly driven to produce a distinctive and outstanding wine that drives interest in exploring the entirety of the Rhône.

Côtes du Rhône Blanc

Guigal’s Côtes du Rhône Blanc both sets and steps outside the standard for the appellation and showcases one of the great secrets of the Guigal family: their specialization in the great white Rhône varieties. While only 8% of the Rhône's production is white, a full 25% of Guigal’s production is white and they are today the single largest producer of whites in the Rhône Valley.

Saint Joseph Vignes de l’Hospice

Saint-Joseph

Guigal’s Vignes de l’Hospice is one of the finest sites in the Northern Rhone Valley. This steeply terraced vineyard used to be divided into three, but Guigal now owns majority of this parcel in order to restore perception of Saint-Joseph as an appellation of utmost quality. In fact, Guigal is often asked when they will produce a fourth “LaLa,” and their response is that their fourth single vineyard phenomenon of the Northern Rhone is already being produced: the Vignes de l’Hospice.

Saint-Joseph Lieu Dit Rouge

Saint-Joseph

A result of its quality, Guigal’s Saint-Joseph Lieu Dit Rouge comes from the “Saint-Joseph” vineyard that gives the appellation its name. This site convinced the Guigals to work in Saint-Joseph and help to restore the historic perception of Saint-Joseph as an appellation of utmost quality. The 100% Syrah wine has complex and deep black fruit, floral, spice and mineral characteristics. Despite its concentration and powerful attack, the wine retains the trademark elegance that Saint-Joseph offers.

Saint-Joseph Lieu Dit Blanc

Saint-Joseph

A result of its quality, Guigal’s Saint-Joseph Blanc Lieu Dit comes from the “Saint-Joseph” vineyard that gives the appellation its name. This site convinced the Guigals to work in Saint-Joseph and help to restore the historic perception of Saint-Joseph as an appellation of utmost quality. Saint-Joseph Blanc is a serious wine, with weight and complexity, and is deeply reflective of its vineyard sites. A seamless balance of freshness and fruitiness, pleasure and interest, and flavors and structure. Guigal’s specialty in whites is especially evident in this wine, as it is almost a deceptively serious wine.

Ermitage Ex Voto Blanc

Hermitage

Ermitage Ex-Voto represents the fulfillment of a longtime dream of Marcel Guigal’s to own vineyard land on the hill of Hermitage. Through the purchase of the de Vallouit and J. L. Grippat domaines in 2000, Guigal acquired four exceptional vineyard parcels on this legendary site. The 2001 vintage was the first release of this estate-bottled Hermitage red and white. The quality of the intense old-vine fruit is quite special, but given the Guigal’s already strong work in Hermitage, they decided to only release an Ex-Voto red or white when the wine is utterly exceptional and clearly superior to their appellation bottlings.

Ermitage Ex Voto Rouge

Hermitage

Ermitage Ex-Voto represents the fulfillment of a longtime dream of Marcel Guigal’s to own vineyard land on the hill of Hermitage. Through the purchase of the de Vallouit and J. L. Grippat domaines in 2000, Guigal acquired four exceptional vineyard parcels on this legendary site. The 2001 vintage was the first release of this estate-bottled Hermitage red and white. The quality of the intense old-vine fruit is quite special, but given the Guigal’s already strong work in Hermitage, they decided to only release an Ex-Voto red or white when the wine is utterly exceptional and clearly superior to their appellation bottlings.

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc

Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Guigal produces an intensely concentrated, inviting and complex Châteauneuf-du-Pape that is almost unique to the region today. Their passion for Châteauneuf, the leading appellation of the Southern Rhône, runs as deeply as that for their home sites in the Northern Rhône. The combination of working with top fruit that has perfect ripeness, along with their extraordinary patience in the cellar, results in rich and full, yet savory, spicy, seamless and balanced wines. Wines to enjoy immediately but capable of aging, and, above all, wines that leave you wanting more.

Condrieu La Doriane

Condrieu

La Doriane is a luxury cuvée of Condrieu that the Guigals have produced since the 1994 vintage. A great success since the first vintage, the wine always seems richly oaked and very fruity when young, transforming in 3-4 years into a seamlessly complex, aromatic and vibrant wine. La Doriane contradicts the accepted wisdom that Condrieu does not age well.