While they might
sound more like a Telebubby than a trio of some of the world’s finest wines,
people are going gaga for the La Las. La Mouline, La Turque and La Landonne,
affectionately known as the La Las, are the three single vineyard wines of
Guigal, the most famous and finest producer in the Côte Rôtie.
Having clocked
up more perfect 100-point scores from influential wine messiah Robert Parker
than any other wine producer, Pétrus and Screaming Eagle included, the La La’s
have become some of the most highly sought after wines in the world, not least
due to their miniscule production. In 2007, the 2003 vintage of the La Las set
a record for the most expensive Rhône wines ever released, with bottles selling
for as much as £500. Imagine my delight then, dear reader, when I was invited
to taste all three at an intimate wine dinner at the plush King Street HQ of
Christie’s auction house.
Taking my place
beside our affable Antipodean host, Guigal’s brand ambassador Brett Crittenden,
we were quickly brought up to speed with the estate’s rich history over a glass
of Guigal’s waxy, honeyed and intensely aromatic La Doriane Condrieu 2010.
Setting out as a teen to earn a living picking apricots, having arrived in
Ampuis, an ancient village in the Côte Rôtie boasting a 2,500-year
winemaking history, entrepreneurial
Etienne Guigal soon secured a job at Vidal Fleury, at the time the most
powerful producer in the Rhône. Guigal’s rise through the ranks was meteoric,
working his way up from cellar hand aged 14 to cellar master in the 1940s.
Before Crittenden
proceeds with the story, we’re served a rich terrine of foie gras fragrant with
white truffle oil and tempered by jasmine jelly. Tucking in, Crittenden
continues… Having accrued sufficient experience, in 1946 Etienne branched out
and founded his eponymous estate, E. Guigal, in Ampuis. In addition to the
near-mythical La Las, Guigal produces wine from appellations across the Rhône,
including around 45% of Condrieu’s annual production, but is best known for
playing a pivotal role in raising Côte Rôtie's global reputation.
Guigal shot
to international fame in the mid ‘80s when Parker heaped praise on the La Las,
commenting: “I have never
seen a producer so fanatical about quality as Marcel Guigal.” The Maryland
critic’s backing helped catapult Côte Rôtie onto the international stage,
allowing it to emerge from Hermitage’s shadow.
Succumbing to
blindness in 1961, Etienne handed over the reins to his son Marcel, who
adopted a simple winemaking approach: low yields, organic viticulture and
minimum intervention in the cellar. His relentless
work ethic and dedication to quality has cemented Guigal’s place in history as
the world’s leading Rhône estate. Snapping up Vidal Fleury in 1984,
Marcel then acquired, restored, and in 1995 relaunched the wines of the
aforementioned Château d'Ampuis. Today,
Marcel’s son Philippe, a father of young twin boys, looks after winemaking at
the estate. With 60 hectares in the Northern Rhône, he is custodian of the
finest collection of old vine vineyards in the Côte-Rôtie.
With our roast duck main on the table, it was time to try
the legendary La Las, each of which
undergoes a staggering 42 months in new oak before bottling.
Expectations were great. We sensibly begin with the most restrained of the
three – La Mouline 2006. The
intoxicating perfume of its exotic nose offered floral spice, wild herbs,
bacon, earth, iodine, truffle, red cherry, minerality and hints of summer
fruits, along with a polished palate of spun silk. Making its debut in 1966, La Mouline, a mere 400 cases of
which are produced a year, is the first of the La Las to be harvested. Made
from old vine Syrah and Viognier from a single vineyard in the Côte Blonde, the
wine includes the highest proportion of Viognier of Guigal’s single vineyard
wines (around 10%), and as a result, is the most floral, feminine and elegant
of the trio.
Next
up is La Turque 2006, described by Brett as having an “electricity” to it.
Reigning from a parcel of old vines inside the Côte Brune, La Turque, meaning
“The Turk”, is typically a blend of 93% Syrah and 7% Viognier. Displaying both
the power of La Landonne and elegance of La Mouline, La Turque started out in
1985, and, like the other La Las, is aged in 100% new French oak for 42 months.
Straddling both spheres, it is denser and more opulent than La Mouline,
but less powerful, structured and tannic than La Landonne. The ’06 showed notes
of damsons, blackcurrants and violets, and had an enticing vitality to it. Like
La Mouline, production hovers at around 400 cases a year.
Dinner
hit a powerful note with Guigal’s beast of a wine – La Landonne 2003, crafted from
100% Syrah, making it by far the most tannic of the trio. Bottled first in 1978 from 20-year-old Côte Brune vines, the lack
of the softening touch of Viognier makes it the most masculine of the La Las.
The ’03 was packed with blackberries, black cherries, chewy tannins, tobacco
and truffle notes, though refreshed by a mineral core. While taking much longer
than the other two to mature, La Landonne, I’m told, rewards those patient
enough to wait for it to reach its full potential. The 2003 was still miles off
maturation.
Ending with a glass of La Turque 1994, which, while
retaining the energy of its youth had mellowed magnificently, mirroring the
elegance of La Mouline, I bypassed the selection of Rhône cheeses in favour of
a midnight amble around the gallery on the lower floor, scattered with modern
artworks worth millions still in their bubble wrap leaning nonchalantly against
the walls. From a Damien Hirst dot painting to a cryptic quintet of Gerhard
Richter doors, to see such valuable works in such a casual context was a rare
and thrilling treat.
