Guigal La Turque 2012
At the time, I got to know his simple Côtes du Rhône during the 11+1 campaign and thought it was a great wine at a sensational price-performance ratio - and "bang", before you know it, there it is in your glass, on a "simple" Thursday evening during a blind tasting of great wines.
The exciting thing about blind tasting is that you have to approach a wine in an unbiased and analytical way. The smallest hint (bottle shape, coating, colour) and your brain plays tricks on you and you think up something else. With this wine, too, the assumptions varied widely: "Too much wood, vanilla, New World, no Tempranillo, or Merlot after all? "But you should first remind yourself what Syrah is and what Syrah can do. At its best, it is fine and delicate, incredibly complex and multi-layered with fine yet powerful tannins. Sometimes it can come across as expansive and almost fruity-sweet - highly changeable and always exciting.
First ripe strawberry, a little spice and then currant (a hint?) and a peppery, smoky, salty note hidden behind a somewhat too superficial use of wood. Perhaps the vintage, perhaps the time. Not quite what we are used to from the northern Rhone. Many factors play a role in determining when the time is right to open a great wine, but I can't help thinking about what's in the glass. In my mind, I am standing in front of the steep and barren slopes of the Côte Rôtie. The scorched slope, on whose flanks the mistral can tear so relentlessly that even the traditional form of cultivation, the so-called "échalas" of three stakes tied together, can hardly offer protection. The sun beats down relentlessly on the Côte Brun, the legendary vineyard that takes its name from the high iron content in the soil. The pictures pay respect. Respect for a plant that stands up to such forces and is capable of peak performance. That is Rhône. Power, finesse and skill. Perfectly balanced by the hands of the legendary Guigal.
Drink now. Gaze at the bottle and enjoy the great moment.