The colour is medium garnet. On the nose spices, smoke, meat, leather, wet ground, dark fruits, cocoa, black olives. A nose that is constantly changing and that is fun to keep revisiting. In the mouth smooth and powerful, with a good acidity. The tannins come through on the finish. There is only one thing holding this wine back from greatness: a mild vegetative note mild palate. The aftertaste is long.
La Turque is made by Guigal with 93% Syrah and 7% Viognier grapes under the Côte-Rôtie appellation of the northern Rhône.
Founded after WWII, Guigal Étienne has become the leading negociant for the Rhône valley and nowadays vinifies as much as 40% of all Côte-Rôtie AOC wines.
For this bottle I had great expectations. Seven years ago, I tasted all three “LaLaLa” wines made by Guigal: La Mouline 1997, La Landonne 1995, La Turque 1997. They are all single-vineyard wines, famous as much for their intensity as for their consistency. They are among the rarest and most desired wines in the world. Only a very limited quantity of each is produced every year (about 400 cases of La Mouline and of La Turque, and 800 cases of La Landonne).
In 1971, Guigal was among the first wineries in the region to pioneer the technique of aging wine in 100% new French oak barrels. Today, Guigal’s “La La” wines continue to be aged in new French oak for up to 42 months before bottling. They typically need at least a decade or more of cellaring to unlock their true potential.
When I first tasted the “La Las” wines in 2015 I remained impressed. Back then I didn’t have a wine-blog yet and I didn’t write any review. The pleasure of that tasting is therefore lost in memory.
This bottle didn’t disappoint. It is a wine of outstanding quality. Complex and rich. I drunk it during an overstay night in the desert, while spending holidays in Dubai. I bought it at AVU for 322.50 CHF.
Country: France
Region: Côte-Rôtie
Grapes: Syrah, Viognier
Type: Red
Vintage: 2006
Producer: E. Guigal
Price range: Luxury (>100 US$)
Pascal’s Enjoyment Index: 5/5