60% Viognier, 15% Roussanne, 10% Marsanne, 8% Clairette, 5% Bourboulenc, 2% Grenache Blanc

Food pairings: A wide range of starters, seafood and fish, including richer fish dishes, cold meat appetizers, white meats such as chicken and veal, and Asian cuisine.

Winemaking: The grapes are handled at low temperatures, and the wine is fermented entirely in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks at around 18°C to preserve the freshness and the vivid aromas of Viognier. The 2024 then rested for nine months in stainless steel before bottling. It is delicious on release, gains complexity with a little time in bottle, and is best enjoyed within about three years, served at about 10°C (50°F).

Vineyards and terroir: While most white Côtes du Rhône is built on Grenache Blanc, Guigal builds this wine on Viognier, a grape that nearly died out in the mid-20th century and that the family believes brings essential freshness and aromatics. Since 1991 the Guigals have sought out growers in the southern Rhône and encouraged them to plant it. The grapes come from a wide variety of soils, from sediments to granitic limestone, with vines about 25 years old on average. White wines make up only a small share of the Rhône's output but a full quarter of Guigal's, making the house the valley's leading producer of white wine.

Family and history: Maison Guigal was founded in 1946 by Étienne Guigal in Ampuis, an ancient village at the heart of Côte-Rôtie, where he had arrived in 1924 at the age of 14 and went on to make wine for 67 vintages. His son Marcel took over in 1961, when Étienne was struck by temporary but total blindness, and with his wife Bernadette, who joined him in 1973, worked hand in hand to expand the family business. In 1995 the family bought the historic Château d'Ampuis on the banks of the Rhône, and in 2003 opened its own cooperage there. Their son Philippe officially joined as winemaker in 1997 and, with his wife Eve, represents the third generation. Every blend is still created by father and son in the family tasting cellar, true to the motto on the walls of the château: "Nul bien sans peine," no pain, no gain.

In the pictures: The Guigal family: Marcel and Bernadette Guigal with their son Philippe and his wife Eve (photo: © E. Guigal, press kit). Château d'Ampuis, the family's home on the banks of the Rhône, below the slopes of Côte-Rôtie (photo: © E. Guigal, press kit).