Guigal – quality at all levels

At the risk of humblebragging, it’s not a bad tasting, is it, when you’ve got all four Guigal LaLas open to pour, with a few back-vintages of Mouline, Landonne and Turque beside the new Reynarde 2022?

And they’re sitting next to a couple of vintages of Ex Voto Hermitage – red and white – as well as the 2018 Château d’Ampuis in Magnum, the glorious Saint-Joseph Vignes de l’Hospice, mini-vertical of Condrieu La Doriane (2024 tasting sensationally fresh) and various Côte-Rotie, Hermitage and Châteauneuf-du-Papes besides.

A reminder, were one ever needed, of just how special the Guigal stable of Rhône wines is.

But amidst the pomp and glory wines – the headliners and showpieces – something that really stood out, chatting to those who attended our tasting of the Guigal Portfolio on Tuesday, was the exceptional quality this producer offers at every price point.

In this video our Head of Fine Wine, Richard, talks through the LaLas. Everything from what they are and how they came about, to stylistic differences between all four and how they became perhaps the most storied wines in the Rhône

One of the most remarked-on wines of the entire tasting was the brand new, fresh-as-a-daisy 2025 Côtes-du-Rhône Blanc, bristling with floral aromatics and pristine fruit.

The Crozes-Hermitage Blanc, too, was on sensational form, as were the Guigal Saint-Josephs in both colours, whilst the Côtes-du-Rhône Rosé was as easy on the palate as it was on the eye.

Then, of course, there is the Guigal Côtes-du-Rhône Rouge, by this point probably as deserving of the term ‘iconic’ as any of Guigal’s LaLa wines, and not only one of the most compelling wines for its price in the Rhône – but arguably anywhere in the world.

In this brilliant interview with Guy Woodward, Philippe Guigal sheds a little light into the difficulty of maintaining such a consistent vintage-on-vintage standard in their Côtes-du-Rhône:

‘It’s much harder to make four million bottles of our Côtes du Rhône, blended from across the region, than it is to make 5,000 bottles of La Mouline from a single great terroir. For the Côtes du Rhône, we taste around 50 samples every day, all blind, of which less than 1.5% goes into the final blend. We spend much longer on this wine than we do the La Las.’

It’s perhaps an important reminder that – although a great terroir still needs a talented hand in the winery to coax it into its fullest expression – perhaps the real sign of an exceptional winemaker is the ability to make something truly special from a broader spread of wines across less fêted terroirs.

As wonderful as the LaLas undoubtedly are, and as important and significant a role they have played in elevating the reputation of Côte-Rôtie and the Rhône, what elevates Guigal as a producer is their year-on-year creation of wines that deliver exceptional quality alongside broad availability and remarkable affordability.

Bottles that more than earn their place in a lineup of genuine wine-world giants – and do so at a price that remains genuinely bewildering. Special wines from a special producer.

Mind you, that 2019 La Mouline …

Thanks so much to all who joined us for the tasting. Most of the attendees were subscribers to our Fells By the Glass newsletter, and it’s hugely appreciated. Please do share this signup link with any wine world friends and colleagues who might be interested – there are many more exciting events upcoming … and Fells By the Glass is your guarantee of hearing about them first.