E. Guigal Cote Rotie La Turque 2018
- jd98-100
- wa98-100
- spw100
- v98
Category | Red Wine |
Varietals | |
Brand | E. Guigal |
Origin | France, Rhône, Côte-Rôtie |
Other vintages
La Turque is Guigal’s latest addition to the single-vineyard Côte-Rôties. This vineyard produced outstanding wines in the first half of the 20th century, but then was not used for wine production for nearly 50 years. The Guigals acquired the vineyard and re-planted it in 1980 and 1981 based on Etienne Guigal’s memory of the quality of the wines it once produced, and the first vintage appeared in 1985.
La Turque is around 2.5 acres in size, situated just north of the Côte Blonde and into the Côte Brune on a vertiginous slope that enjoys perfect southern exposure; La Turque is in fact the only vineyard in Côte-Rôtie that directly sees the first rays of sunshine in the morning all the way through the last rays of dusk. This vineyard is planted to 93% Syrah and 7% Viognier, with a soil type of silicone limestone with schist that produces clay soils rich in iron oxide. The wine is punched down and alcoholic fermentation and maceration last around 4 weeks. Aging is for 42 months in new oak barrels made at the Chateau d’Ampuis cooperage. The complex soils lend an exotic character to La Turque, and its concentration and elegance exhibit the virility of the Côte Brune with the subtlety and femininity of the Côte Blonde.
Jeb Dunnuck
- jd98-100
Tasting like the 2015, yet with perhaps slightly more elegance, the 2018 Côte Rôtie La Turque reveals a saturated purple color as well as blockbuster notes of crème de cassis, white flowers, candle wax, graphite, and spiced meats. It’s a huge, full-bodied, blockbuster styled effort as well as another magical wine in the making. 98-100
Wine Advocate
- wa98-100
Does the scale go higher than 100? Guigal's 2018 Cote Rotie La Turque is a sure candidate for perfection down the road. With more concentration and richness than the aromatic 2017, it seamlessly blends grilled cherries, espresso, black olives and even exotic hints of black truffle into a full-bodied, powerhouse that should drink well for at least two decades. 98-100
Station Plaza Wine
- spw100
Soft, smooth and silky with notes of dried meats, sun dried tomatoes, cherries and strawberries. Simply irresistible.
Vinous
- v98
Smoke- and mineral-accented cherry and blackberry scents, along with powerful suggestions of exotic spices, incense and cracked pepper. Deep-pitched but also energetic on the palate, offering appealingly sweet dark berry, cherry liqueur and floral pastille flavors braced by a spine of juicy acidity. The floral note carries through an impressively long, penetrating finish that shows outstanding clarity and steadily mounting tannins.