It’s a lively rosé, distinctly deep in taste, structured, bodied and a hallmark of the house of Guigal. The Côtes du Rhône Rosé from the Guigal family, who choose to make the wine using the demanding rosé de saignée method, a traditional method which leads to a structured, intense wine, is a far cry from the rosés that are produced through a direct wine-making method. Saignée means to bleed and when applied  to rosé winemaking that involves “bleeding” off a portion of red wine juice after it’s been in contact with the skins and seeds.  The maceration is brief —8 to 12 hours for example —depending upon the color the wine maker wants to achieve. Often this can result in a deep pink color but at Guigal the color is pale and luminous, on purpose, sublimated by the engaging and exclusive shape of the bottle which slowly reveals itself —as you pour more into the glass — to be a spiral or helical shape. 

The Côtes du Rhône Rosé from the house of Guigal has been elaborated in the same way for over 80 years with three grape varieties emblematic of the region: Grenache (for 70% of the composition), Cinsault (for 20%) and Syrah (for 10%). The Guigal estate was founded in 1946 by Etienne Guigal in Ampuis; a small, ancient village at the heart of the Côte-Rôtie appellation. His son Marcel Guigal became the second generation of the family to manage the estate which includes today the third generation, Philippe Guigal, who is the estate’s oenologist. « Rosé is an old tradition in the Rhône Valley. We are aiming to create fresh and balanced wines which are genuinely agreeable to enjoy, » commented Philippe Guigal. 

Guigal is regarded as one of the most prestigious houses in the Côtes du Rhône region, a mythical wine-producing region with its red and white Châteauneuf-du-Papes, pink Tavels, and red and white Crozes-Hermitages, just to name a few. In addition to enjoying Guigal’s Côtes du Rhône Rosé’s aromatic, sun-drenched freshness at The Gourmet Gazette we paired it with smoked trout from the French Basque country. ©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette

https://www.guigal.com/en/