Hermitage Rouge Guigal 2020

Hermitage Rouge from the Guigal winery is a vigorous, full-bodied red wine from the northern Rhone Valley in France. The winery, founded in 1946 in Ampuis by Etienne Guigal, is family-owned and has now, for generations, carried on a painstaking quest for constant quality to keep the reputation of the area's wines high. This red fully represents the reality of the Rhone, bringing all the traits of elegance and delicacy typical of Syrah from the area.

Hermitage Rouge is a great red wine made from Syrah grapes sourced from steep south-facing slopes located exactly behind the town of Tain-l'Hermitage. Historically, this area gives rise to the most powerful and structured red wines in the entire northern Rhone Valley. It comes from vineyards about 30 years old that host the Rhone River. The vines, planted on silty, clayey soils with sandy gravel on the surface, are often tied to poles one by one with raffia as protection from the strong winds coming in from the north. The winemaking process begins with temperature-controlled alcoholic fermentation with maceration on the skins for about 4 weeks. The wine is then aged for about 36 months in half new and half used oak barrels and bottled.

Guigal's Hermitage Rouge is a deep ruby-red wine, with the nose showing hints of red and black berry fruits such as cherry and black currant, floral aromas and spices such as black pepper, liquorice and vanilla. In the mouth, it is powerful, full, energetic, and tannic with a long, lingering finish. This red can be the perfect way to start a dialogue with wines from the Rhone Valley, one of the areas where the Syrah grape variety can express itself best and achieve fantastic results in terms of expressiveness and elegance.