E. Guigal Revisited, Part 2: The Reds

Before proceeding with the reds at E. Guigal, Philippe Guigal and I needed a palate cleanser. What better than the 2013 Côtes du Rhône Rosé, which is plump and ripe, with lovely Bing cherry and strawberry fruit and a light tobacco shading.

"We usually taste and purchase lots for blending all on one visit," said Guigal of the rosé. "But it took nine visits to the south in 2013. Because there was so little Grenache and many rosé lots were being made by saignée, with unripe grapes or other varietals, we had a very difficult time finding what we felt like was top quality. It took a lot more time than usual but we're very happy with the end result of the rosé in '13."

Guigal's other rosé bottling is the 2013 Tavel. It's laced with light strawberry, tobacco and warm stone notes.

For the most recent vintages of bottled reds, we began with the 2011 Crozes-Hermitage, which shows lots of lively bramble, sage and blackberry notes while bay and sage line the finish. It has a nice leathery hint too, with enough fruit for balance.

"We prefer a Crozes in a more Northern Rhône style of Syrah," said Guigal. "With pepper hints and crunchy, fresh fruit feel. There are other styles of Crozes but this is what we like."

The 2012 St.-Joseph is a touch tight from the recent bottling, but there's lively red currant and red cherry fruit here, lined with sandalwood and sanguine hints. Typical of the vintage, there's a richness of fruit with noticeable but not hard tannins. The 2012 St.-Joseph Lieu-Dit St.-Joseph has lovely bramble, blueberry, loganberry and blackberry fruit, backed by singed juniper, black tea and graphite coursing through the finish.

Dipping down to the Southern Rhône again, the 2011 Gigondas features a 65/30/5 Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah blend, among the higher proportions of Mourvèdre in the AOC.

"We like the rustic touch of Gigondas and Mourvèdre brings that character," said Guigal. The wine's plum and raspberry fruit is lined with light rooibos tea and singed cinnamon notes that add nice texture to the finish, along with a pleasantly rustic twinge.

The 2010 Hermitage (bottled in June) sports the terrific grip of the vintage, with lots of ganache and charcoal out front followed by a very solid core of steeped currant, warmed fig and pain d'épices. There's a great graphite spine on the finish that really powers through authoritatively. It's very serious stuff and, as it typically retails for under $100, it's a very square price for top-quality Hermitage.

The 2011 Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde, which was set to be bottled the next day, is very polished, with lovely steeped red currant and plum fruit carried by black tea, roasted alder and pain d'épices notes. There's a flash of olive in the background on the long, iron-tinged finish. This is very focused and should age nicely. The 2011 Côte-Rôtie Château d'Ampuis also shows lovely range, with very expressive alder, black tea and singed sandalwood notes framing a core of steeped black cherry and plum fruit. Long, smoldering charcoal and warm leather notes line the finish, with ample grip in reserve.

We finished by tasting from barrel a range of the top red cuvées from 2013, starting with the 2013 St.-Joseph Lieu-Dit St.-Joseph, which shows gorgeous spice cake, black tea and leather notes woven around a core of steeped currant and anise. The 2013 St.-Joseph Vignes de l'Hospice is loaded with pain d'épices, fig, espresso and ganache, with lots of charcoal filling in the dense finish—it's a bit rugged today, but it has a ways to go in terms of its élevage.

The 2013 Côte-Rôtie La Mouline was last racked in December 2013; it's hinting at reduction but has ample warm ganache, black tea, and raspberry and blackberry confiture notes. As usual, its fruit is extremely impressive though it's all held in check today but it's still youthfully raw structure. The 2013 Côte-Rôtie La Turque is more open and expressive, with Turkish coffee, pain d'épices and briar notes embedded in the core of black currant and fig paste flavors. Completing the trio of famed 'La La' wines is the 2013 Côte-Rôtie La Landonne, which has intense smoldering charcoal, bay, singed iron and black currant paste flavors, intense grip and a very muscular finish.

To cap it off, a sample of the 2013 Ermitage Ex Voto lots (Guigal has not decided if they will go into the separate bottling or the regular Hermitage cuvée yet) shows velvety textured layers of boysenberry and raspberry confiture, plum paste and anise notes, with a long, lush, fruit cake-driven finish. It's a stunning young wine in the making.

I asked Guigal if he really needs that much convincing to keep the Ex Voto lots separate in 2013.

"We always take our time with that decision," he said. "But, if I were a betting man, I'd say there's a good chance there will be an Ex Voto in '13."