2014 Condrieu
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Tasting notes
25-year-old vines. One-third fermented and aged eight months in new oak and two-thirds in tank. Full malo. The greater effect of new oak here, compared with Jaboulet's Dom des Grands Amandiers 2014 just tasted, shows in a more cedar-dominated aroma and slightly less creaminess on the nose, a litlle more spice. But on the palate, the combination of oak and malo has given this more weight. There's plenty of peach fruit, moderate but sufficient acidity, moderate length and it's just a little bit heavy on the finish. Perhaps it would have been better drunk a little earlier but then the oak would perhaps have been even more prominent. (JH)
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
James Suckling
More reviews and scores
Showing similar to last year, yet maybe with even a touch more depth (it’s common for top-flight Condrieu to improve with 6-12 months of bottle age), Guigal’s 2014 Condrieu offers a ripe, medium to full-bodied style, terrific minerality, notes of ripe peach, honeysuckle and apricot, as well as a great texture. It’s drinking beautifully today but will keep for 3-5 years.
Green-tinged yellow. complex scents of yellow peach, tangerine, mango and chamomile take on a dusty mineral flourish as the wine opens up. Supple and expansive on the palate, offering mineral-accented citrus and pit fruit flavors and hints of fennel and violet. Expresses a suave blend of richness and vivacity and finishes minerally and very long, leaving behind poached pear and lemon curd notes.
They launch this wine early, in late June. One-third new oak and two-thirds tank. Always 100% malolactic. Picked pre-rains, I am assured. An attractive savoury element to the nose of this; not too obviously floral. Rich, pungent start and very racy. Relatively subtle. But not that concentrated. (JR)