2015 E. Guigal Ex Voto Ermitage Rhone Valley 750 ml

E. Guigal, based in Ampuis in the Northern Rhône, is one of France’s iconic producers. Led by Marcel Guigal—who Robert Parker famously called “this planet’s greatest winemaker”—and his son Philippe, the winery is best known for their “La La” Côte-Rôties, which enjoy the same collector-cachet as First Growth Bordeaux and Grand Cru Burgundy. 

Only one Guigal bottling stands with their priceless Côte-Rôties: the Ex Voto Hermitage. 

Crafted from 100% Syrah, the magnificent 2015 comes from three of the finest plots on Hermitage hill: Bessards, Greffieux, Murets, and Hermite. Each block is only about one acre, and the wine ages for a staggering 42 months in 100% new oak barrels, fashioned at the Guigal cooperage. The result is an ageworthy blockbuster wine that Jeb Dunnuck called “ rich, powerful, primordial” in his 98+ pt review. 

Run by Marcel and Philippe Guigal “consistently fashion some of the greatest wines in the world,” according to Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. It’s hard to sum up just how influential the Guigal name has become in the Rhône Valley over the course of just three generations, but Marcel and his son Philippe’s relentless work ethic and the greatest collection of vineyards in Northern Rhône have cemented their place atop the hierarchy.

Marcel has publicly declared that “2015 is on the level of 1929, 1947, 1961, adding, “It is surely the vintage of a lifetime. In 55 years, I’ve never seen anything like it.” It was an assessment roundly echoed by fellow winemakers and by critics including Jancis Robinson, who advised: “If you have any enthusiasm at all for red Rhône, 2015 is a vintage not to be missed.”