Score: 88/100
The Côtes du Rhône wines: the Rosé (Pink), the Rouge (Red), and the Blanc (White) we’re reviewing here, are without a doubt the most popular, affordable, and approachable in E. Guigal estate’s range.
This wine is made of 65% Viognier, 15% Roussanne, 10% Marsanne, 8 % Clairette, and 2% Bourboulenc from vines averaging 25 years.
It’s fermented at low temperature to preserve freshness of the primary fruit characters. No oak ageing.
Around 700,000 bottles are this wine are made every year and exported in many countries around the world.
So how good is this Côtes du Rhone Blanc wine by E. Guigal?
The answer is in the tasting notes:
The wine has quite a pale yellow color. It’s less of a gold lemon yellow color, rather more like a white peach skin yellow one.
The nose burst with fresh and juicy summery fruits: apricot s super intense, accompanied by peach and pear. There’s some vegetal spiciness too accentuating the freshness of the fruit: a hint of anise notes that lifts the nose and gives it a slight savory tone in this ocean of fruit.
The wine is dry overall, but bursting so much in ripe fruit flavors like the nose, and with a touch a perceived sweetness, that it feels you’re enjoying an elegant pear, peach, and apricot juice. Some creamy notes round up the flavors and mirror the palate sensations that has quite an oily texture.
A light savory bitterness on the finish makes the tasting end on a salivating impression. A good thing
Overall
A very fresh, refreshing and pleasing dry white wine filled in summery fruit flavors.
A good balance with relatively light body, not very acidic, and a touch of perceived sweetness make for an easy to drink, and more important easy to enjoy warm days’ sip, like a balanced savory-bitter fruit cocktail in some regards if I may venture in the comparison. Well made, clean and enjoyable.
Food Pairing
Obviously seafood is a natural instinctive choice for this fresh white wine. Rich dishes or cheeses could work less successfully as the wine’s acidity, despite being good enough for the wine to be perfectly balanced, is not its absolute forte.
If you fancy something fancy, we’ve got the perfect recipe for you developped by Francois Chartier, 1994 Best Sommelier in the World: Pan seared scallops, blood orange Brazil nut couscous, ginger coconut milk
Please let me know your thoughts