2019 E Guigal Cote-Rotie Chateau d'Ampuis Magnum 1.5L, Northern Rhone

The 2019 Cote Rotie Chateau d'Ampuis is a super example of this cuvée, which blends fruit from seven different lieux-dits (three on the Cote Blonde and four on the Cote Brune). Smoky, herbal and complex, with a solid foundation of blueberry and raspberry fruit, it's full-bodied and concentrated yet silky, elegant and long on the finish.

94-96 points Joe Czerwinski robertparker.com Feb 2022

Château d’Ampuis is one of the great wines of E. Guigal, named after the historic château on the banks of the Rhône that has been the family’s headquarters since 1995. Rather than coming from a single vineyard, it draws on seven exceptional Côte Rôtie lieux dits, including La Garde, Le Clos, Grande Plantée, Pommière, Pavillon Rouge, La Gerine and Moulin. The result sits just below Guigal’s legendary single vineyard La La wines and gives a superb picture of Côte Rôtie as a whole.

The precipitous granite terraces around Ampuis are among the most dramatic vineyards in France. Syrah dominates, with a small proportion of Viognier traditionally co fermented to add perfume and suppleness. The excellent 2019 vintage produced concentrated, structured Northern Rhône reds, and Château d’Ampuis has the fruit and tannin to make the most of it. Guigal’s extended maturation in oak gives the wine considerable richness in youth, but time gradually folds that oak into the smoky, savoury character of Côte Rôtie.

Deep garnet purple, with an extraordinary perfume of blackberry, black cherry and blueberry, followed by violet, cracked pepper and smoked bacon. Black olive, graphite, liquorice and woodsmoke emerge with air, together with hints of espresso and dried flowers. The palate is powerful yet beautifully controlled, with concentrated dark fruit running through firm, polished tannins. Pepper, olive and smoky mineral notes build across the mouth before a very long finish of blackberry, violet, graphite and spice.

Duck breast with blackberry and juniper would be magnificent, as would rare venison with beetroot, beef fillet with peppercorns, lamb with black olives and rosemary or grilled king oyster mushrooms with miso and sesame. Our pick is the duck, kept pink and served with a sharp blackberry sauce to meet all that smoky Syrah fruit.

Cellaring: Drink from 2027 to 2045+.