Just bought a Cote de(du?) Rhone by E. Guigal. Someone suggested that
almost anything by Guigal would be a good one to try.

I think many would think it good(vague I know), but since I like
Aussie and California Cabs and Shirazes, it was not my "cup of tea".

Can anyone tell me why the back of the bottle does not have anything
in the way of a description of the wine other than" Product of France-
Rouge" I like to know if it's full bodied or has blackberry and plum
flavour or has a medium long finish and so on.

TIA

Larry Stumpf,
S. Ontario,
Canada

Larry wrote in
:

Just bought a Cote de(du?) Rhone by E. Guigal. Someone suggested that
almost anything by Guigal would be a good one to try.

I think many would think it good(vague I know), but since I like
Aussie and California Cabs and Shirazes, it was not my "cup of tea".

Can anyone tell me why the back of the bottle does not have anything
in the way of a description of the wine other than" Product of France-
Rouge" I like to know if it's full bodied or has blackberry and plum
flavour or has a medium long finish and so on.

TIA

Larry Stumpf,
S. Ontario,
Canada


It is one of those French things, they expect you to know the general
description of the wine from the AOC designation.

"Steve Naïve" wrote:

Larry wrote in
:

Just bought a Cote de(du?) Rhone by E. Guigal. Someone suggested that
almost anything by Guigal would be a good one to try.

Cotes du Rhone (with circumflexes over both 'o's). Guigal is a really
good, solid producer and his Cotes-du-Rhone is one of the best. I think it
is one of the best widely available wines at the price.

Sorry, Steve, but I can't agree. Guigal makes excellent Cote-Roties (if you
like the style) but his negociant offerings leave me largely unimpressed. His
CdR especially I find bland and commerical in style, especially in light of
the ongoing revolution in quality currently underway in the "lesser" communes
of the Southern Rhone Valley (e.g., Cairanne). So, while it's nothing bad,
it's nothing that gets me very excited, either, even in great years such as
'98.

I agree completely with you, however, about the size of CdRs. To Larry I can
only say that sometimes French wines are an acquired taste, but your own
palate is the final determination of "quality." If you don't like it, there
are still plenty of wines left out there to try...

Mark Lipton

On Fri, 03 Oct 2003 16:48:40 -0400, Larry wrote:

Just bought a Cote de(du?) Rhone by E. Guigal. Someone suggested that
almost anything by Guigal would be a good one to try.

I think many would think it good(vague I know), but since I like
Aussie and California Cabs and Shirazes, it was not my "cup of tea".

Can anyone tell me why the back of the bottle does not have anything
in the way of a description of the wine other than" Product of France-
Rouge" I like to know if it's full bodied or has blackberry and plum
flavour or has a medium long finish and so on.

If you want more information on it try the Guigal website,
http://www.guigal.com/site/anglais/vins.html
"• Appearance :
Deep, bright, garnet-red colour.

• On the nose :
A fresh, crisp wine, small soft fruit and spices

• On the palate :
A full-bodied, elegant wine, with mellow tannins, warmth and aromatic
intensity.

• Main qualities :
A complete wine with lots of length on the palate. Elegance and finesse
due to well-balanced tannins and fruit."

Also gives the composition as 50% Grenache, 25% Mourvedre and 25% syrah.

Personally, I happened to have it for the first time at a dinner the other
day and would have to say that I agree with Mark that it struck me as okay
but not hugely exciting.

Ian

In article , Larry
writes:

an anyone tell me why the back of the bottle does not have anything
in the way of a description of the wine other than" Product of France-
Rouge" I like to know if it's full bodied or has blackberry and plum
flavour or has a medium long finish and so on.


Larry, I agree with what's been said before by Mark & Steve. But I also want to
add that , in my view, many if not most wine back label "notes" belong in the
fantasy section at Barnes & Noble. I like information re cepage, barrel regime,
etc.- that can help make a decision. But the label notes seldom reflect reality
to me. I particularly like the ones that say "this soft full-bodied Merlot with
ripe blackberry flavors and toasty vanilla overtones will pair well with a
variety of pastas, fish, chicken, and red meat."

BTW, put me in the camp with Mark-I find Guigal's CdR to be a bit boring. There
are other CdRs I find far superior. I find the Guigal Côte-Rôtie Brune & Blonde
to generally be a good value- not the best Côte-Rôtie made, but a good honest
product at the low end of the Côte-Rôtie price scale. That's actually the only
Guigal I still purchase.

Thanks Ian G. for looking up that info. That cepage is pretty typical for CdR,
I'd guess. Although some of my favorites are mostly or all Syrah.

..


Dale

Dale Williams
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