2018 E. Guigal Chateau d’Ampuis Cote-Rotie Rhone 750 ml

No winery is more responsible for the Northern Rhône’s place in the hearts and cellars of collectors than Guigal, and Robert Parker has called patriarch Marcel Guigal “this planet’s greatest winemaker.” Simply put, they are to Syrah what Petrus is to Merlot and Romanée-Conti is to Pinot Noir.

It’s hard to sum up just how influential Guigal is, but here’s one indicator: Since 1990, their mythical single-vineyard “La-Las”—La Landonne, La Mouline, and La Turque—have garnered 20 perfect 100-point reviews from Wine Advocate alone. That’s more than Petrus, Lafite-Rothschild, Haut-Brion, Mouton-Rothschild, and Margaux combined.

Guigal’s Château d’Ampuis Côte-Rôtie is one of their signature bottles—the only Côte-Rôtie in their collection of “Treasures,” outside of their $380+ La-Las. It’s an assemblage of seven of their best plots in Côte-Rôtie, and each adjoins one of Guigal’s famous single-vineyard crus.

The stratospheric quality goes beyond the terroir itself: Meticulous treatment in the cellar brings out the full potential of the vineyards’ exquisite fruit. The result is a bottle that stands proudly with any that Guigal makes.

Jeb Dunnuck agreed, awarding the 2018 97 points. When he tasted it out of barrel, he declared it to be “certainly in the same league as the famed La Las.”

When Marcel took over Château d’Ampuis, he spent 11 years restoring the property to its former glory. In the process, he discovered the plots that had once been used to craft the estate’s legendary Cote-Rôtie. He set out to re-create that wine, and ended up fashioning a new classic—one that succeeds in capturing the beauty of the “La La” terroirs.