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News
"Easily one of the greatest Condrieu I’ve ever tasted is the 2015 Condrieu La Doriane. A wine that needs to be tasted to be believed, it possesses a huge nose of toasted brioche, liquid rocks, apricot, flower oil and salty minerality. Unctuous, full-bodied, massively rich, yet also elegant and graceful, with beautiful freshness, enjoy this tour de force over the coming 5-6 years."
99 Points Wine Advocate
"Extraordinary complexity. Gently flinty lemon, apricot, yellow peach and mango with grilled hazelnuts, spiced custard and pastry. Wildly attractive and complex. The palate has vast fruit depth, and is bathed in toasty oak. The peach and apricots roll endlessly in a smooth, supple and creamy texture. Magnificent wine. Drink now."
96 Points James Suckling
"Lush, with papaya, mango and ginger notes layered seamlessly, while hints of heather honey, anise and piecrust hang in the background. The long and rich finish has no choice but to let the fruit power on. All hedonism and thoroughly delicious. Drink now through 2022."
95 Points Wine Spectator
"Brilliant yellow-gold. Powerful orange, nectarine and honeydew aromas are complemented by suave floral, vanilla and chalky mineral accents. Supple and expansive in the mouth, offering deeply concentrated, smoke-tinged poached pear and peach nectar flavors that pick up honey and iodine qualities as the wine opens up. Lush and seamless but surprisingly energetic in style, showing superb closing thrust and lingering suggestions of buttery brioche and candied pit fruits."
95 Points Vinous Media
Wine Description
The Story
Guigal has produced La Doriane, their top cuvée of Condrieu, since the 1994 vintage. The Viognier grapes for this wine are sourced from some of the finest sites in the appellation, including Côtes Chatillon, a steeply terraced shale, silicone and limestone vineyard overlooking the town of Condrieu itself. The other vineyards are Coteaux de Chery (granite and schist) and Colombier (granite and sand), situated further south, and starting in 2005, Château Volan – an exceptionally steep, south-facing vineyard comprised of granite and iron oxide near the town of Malleval.
Guigal performs several green harvests during the growing season in these vineyards to keep yields exceptionally low. In the vintages 1994 through 1997, Guigal made the wine in a fashion similar to their ‘regular’ cuvée, fermenting a portion in new oak barrels (33% for the regular, 50% for La Doriane) and the rest in stainless steel. Since the 1998 vintage La Doriane is fermented and aged in 100% new oak barriques each year, with a higher level of fine lees included in the fermenting must to help the wine integrate the oak character more completely. A great success since the first vintage, the wine always seems rich and very fruity when young, transforming in 3-4 years into a seamlessly complex, aromatic and vibrant wine. La Doriane contradicts the accepted wisdom that Condrieu does not age well.