Guigal in Saint-Joseph is the northern Rhône working at scale without losing the plot. Sustainable farming down to the packaging, with a stated zero-waste target that most houses this size wouldn't bother naming. The 2022 opens on pure, intense black fruit with just a whisper of oak behind it, then hits with a fresh, powerful attack that suggests this is a wine still growing into itself. Syrah with something to say, and nobody's hiding it under vanilla.
Tasting Notes
Pure and intense aromas of black fruit with delicate notes of oak lead into a fresh, powerful attack. This wine becomes more refined with age.
Professional Ratings
95
Jeb DunnuckAll Syrah from a single lieu-dit and brought up in 50% new French oak, the 2023 Saint Joseph Lieu-Dit Saint Joseph is brilliant, showing exceptional purity in its cassis, graphite, pepper, and violet aromas and flavors. Medium to full-bodied, seamless, and impeccably balanced, it has integrated oak, fine tannins, and a finish that won't quit.
94
Wine AdvocateMatured for 24 months in barrels, the 2022 Saint-Joseph Lieu-Dit Saint-Joseph is dense and harmonious, unfurling in the glass with aromas of wild dark berries, spices, flowers and fresh thyme. Medium- to full-bodied, dense and enveloping, it is seamless, built around a sweet, fleshy core of fruit and concluding with a long, dark-berry-inflected finish. This is a stunning wine.
92
VinousFleshy scents, pencil shavings and smoky tones introduce the 2023 Saint-Joseph Lieu-dit Saint-Joseph, a medium-bodied, distinctively savoury red Saint-Joseph, letting the palate settle with fresh bite and persistence on the smooth finish.
About the Producer
This estate needs little introduction, founded in 1946 by Etienne Guigal, it is simply one of the greatest and most iconic quality wine producers in the world. No less than 30 perfect scores of 100/100 from Robert Parker a total unequalled by any other producer anywhere testify to the extraordinary quality that the Guigals achieve, year in, year out. At the same time, the Guigals produce large volumes of delicious and well-priced Cotes du Rhone, which allows a wider public to share the Guigal experience.
