Guigal Cote Rotie Chateau d'Ampuis 2018 (Magnum 1.5L)

Ah, Guigal. Côte-Rôtie. Does it get any better? Jeb Dunnuck calls this “one of the world’s greatest wine estates for over seven decades,” and we fully agree. 95+, 96, and 97-99 scores attest to what we expected one sip in...this is one of the best Château d'Ampuis wines ever! And a BONUS deal of over $60 OFF on a 6-pack, Huzzah! Super-limited, but not to be missed!

What can we say, Guigal is just so very close to our hearts. Like so many, Marcel’s wines may have been your Côte-Rôtie epiphany back in the day, or perhaps one waiting to happen. Trust us, they have never been better. Just read the reviews below. We particularly love Dunnuck’s assertion that Guigal’s Ampuis falls “certainly in the same league as the famed La Las...” – meaning, of course, La Mouline, La Turque, and La Landonne (all falling at ~$400 each). If that quip doesn’t grab your attention...check your pulse.

Château d'Ampuis is a blend of their top seven estate vineyards in Côte-Rôtie, including the La Garde, Le Clos, Grande-Plantée, Pommière, Pavillon, Le Moulin, and La Viria lieux-dits. It sees prolonged aging of nearly four full years in new French oak and is handled exactly like the single vineyard “La Las” releases with a four-week maceration and fermentation prior to pressing. Ampuis is composed of 93% syrah and 7% viognier and is about as classic a Côte-Rôtie as you’ll ever taste. Powerfully aromatic notes of smoke, spice, and floral, bound together with deep bramble berries of black and blue, followed by earthy and oak-driven notes of black pepper and espresso...this is tremendously hedonistic, and yet dramatically elegant and silky. Perfect with a decant now, better still in a couple years!

This Château d'Ampuis is a personal favorite because, while at the level of the legendary La Las, especially in a great vintage like 2018, this is so much more approachable to your wallet. Incredible bang for the buck, yet with all of the power, the intensity, and the ageability, just immense.

The Guigal family spent 15 years restoring Château d'Ampuis, a historic property whose oldest sections date to the 11th century. The Chateau d’Ampuis has been the symbol of the town of Ampuis and the world-renowned Côte-Rôtie vineyard area for ten centuries. These seven exceptional vineyards from both sides of Cote-Rotie, three on the Côte Blonde and four on the Côte Brune, are further distinguished in that each vineyard adjoins one of the three Guigal single vineyard crus of La Mouline, La Landonne, or La Turque. That makes it all part of some of the greatest places to grow syrah anywhere in the world, and this lives up to every drop of hype! Secure as much as you can, you will not be sorry!