100% Syrah

Food pairings: Red meats, roasted meats and grilled lamb, hearty stews, charcuterie, and refined or robust cheeses.

Winemaking: The grapes ferment in stainless steel tanks at high temperatures, and the wine then ages for about 28 months in oak barrels that have already held one wine, so the oak frames the Syrah's red fruit with delicate notes rather than dominating it. 2020 was a hot, dry year in the northern Rhône, and Philippe Guigal found the wines much better than he had feared, with real energy rather than heaviness. Ready to enjoy now, it will keep for around ten years.

Vineyards and terroir: Saint-Joseph runs along the right bank of the Rhône, facing Hermitage across the river, its vines climbing steep south- and southeast-facing slopes. Enjoyed at the table of kings in the 16th century, the wine takes its name from the Jesuit monks of Tournon. Guigal's Saint-Joseph comes from vines 20 to 50 years old, mostly in the communes of Tournon, Mauves and Sarras, on sandy, pebbly soils with limestone.

Family and history: Étienne Guigal arrived in Ampuis, in the heart of Côte-Rôtie, in 1924 at the age of 14 and founded Maison Guigal there in 1946, going on to make 67 vintages. His son Marcel took over in 1961, when Étienne was struck by temporary blindness, and from 1973 he and his wife Bernadette worked hand in hand to expand the family business into one of the great names of the Rhône Valley. In 1995 the family bought the historic Château d'Ampuis on the banks of the Rhône, and in 2001 it took over the Jean-Louis Grippat and de Vallouit estates, strengthening its place in Saint-Joseph, Hermitage and Crozes-Hermitage. Marcel's son Philippe officially joined as winemaker in 1997, later joined by his wife Eve, and every day father and son still work on their blends together in the family tasting cellar.

In the pictures: Terraced Syrah vines on the steep slopes of the Saint-Joseph appellation in autumn (photo: Olivier Lemoine, Photo-Terroir.fr, 2016, CC BY-SA 4.0). Château d'Ampuis, the Guigal family's historic home on the banks of the Rhône, with the vineyards of Côte-Rôtie rising behind it (photo: courtesy of E. Guigal).