CUISINE

There are wine tastings, and then there are those rare afternoons when what is poured into the glass carries with it a much bigger story.

Invited to The Canterbury Club for an afternoon tasting of E. Guigal, presented by Brett Crittenden, we travelled through the latest offerings from one of the Rhône Valley’s great wine houses. For me, however, this story began several years earlier.

I first met Brett in 2023 at a presentation at N0. 4. He is thoroughly enthralling to listen to, speaking about wine with knowledge and precision without ever removing the romance from it. His introduction to E. Guigal left such an impression that I subsequently travelled to France to experience the estate for myself.

To visit Ampuis is to understand that wine here is inseparable from place.

Viticulture has existed around Côte Rôtie for some 2,400 years, stretching back to Roman times. The vineyards rise dramatically above the Rhône, while artefacts discovered around the estate speak to the history beneath them.

Maison Guigal was founded by Étienne Guigal in 1946 and three generations of the family have since built an extraordinary legacy. I was fortunate enough to tour the cellars privately with Philippe Guigal himself, an experience that changed the way I understood the wines.

Château d’Ampuis sits beside the Rhône, a short drive from Lyon. Standing there, surrounded by centuries of history and some of the most illustrious vineyard terrain in France, gives an entirely different perspective when the bottle eventually returns to the table.

So, sitting inside The Canterbury Club listening to Brett once again, this time with Ampuis firmly stored in my memory, gave the afternoon another dimension.

Of the wines tasted, two were particularly sublime.

E. Guigal Côte Rôtie “La Reynarde” 2022
The inaugural La Reynarde is crafted entirely from Syrah grown on a 1.6 hectare plateau in the Fongeant sector, where schist, granite and iron rich clay shape the wine.

Dark berries lead into lilac and subtle cinnamon, with the power of Côte Rôtie balanced by remarkable elegance. Full bodied, structured and beautifully composed, it became increasingly interesting with every return to the glass.

The Wine Advocate rated the 2022 vintage 95–97 points. For a debut, it is quite an entrance.

E. Guigal Côte Rôtie “La Landonne” 2022
Then came La Landonne.
The wine bursts from the glass with coffee, oak and toast, moving into tobacco, dark fruit and tremendous concentration. It is a wine built for longevity and I was told it will benefit from time as its oak and tannins continue to integrate.
Perhaps but I found it beautiful exactly as it was.
Powerful, assured and unmistakably serious, the 2022 La Landonne received 93–96 points from The Wine Advocate.

And that was how we finished.
We were told there may have been only four bottles of each wine in New Zealand, making the significance of seeing one of each opened in that room difficult to ignore.

The Canterbury Club was a fitting place for it. Stylish, elegant and classic, it provided exactly the right setting for Brett Crittenden and an exceptional range from E. Guigal.

There is something remarkable about tasting wine after having stood on the land from which it came. Memory becomes part of the experience. A scent, a texture, a glass can suddenly transport you thousands of kilometres.

For one afternoon at The Canterbury Club, I was back in Ampuis.