50% Syrah, 40% Grenache, 10% Mourvèdre

Food pairings: Charcuterie and cold meats, grilled and roasted red meats, braises such as braised lamb or a hearty beef stew, roast chicken and game birds, and a good cheese board.

Winemaking: Guigal's Côtes du Rhône is made the traditional way, with temperature-controlled fermentations and long macerations on the skins. It is then aged for 18 months, partly in large oak foudres, an unusually long and costly élevage for the appellation, with the blend patiently built by Marcel and Philippe Guigal over that time. 2022 was the hottest and driest growing season in the Rhône since 1950, surpassing even 2003; welcome rain in mid-August helped the grapes ripen, and the low yields gave concentrated, full-bodied wines with rich fruit.

Vineyards and terroir: Unlike virtually every other Côtes du Rhône, this wine is based on Syrah, a northern Rhône approach that brings greater aromatic intensity and structure but is harder and more costly to achieve in the south. The grapes come from the growers Guigal has worked with for many years, on a wide variety of soils: sediments, granitic limestone, alluvium and rounded pebbles.

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: Old oak foudres and barrels in the Guigal cellars in Ampuis (photo: © E. Guigal, press kit). Marcel Guigal and his son Philippe among the vines (photo: © E. Guigal, press kit).