Rumor has it that the Winespectator Wine of the Year is 1999 Guigal Chateauneuf du Pape.

Second place 1999 CSJ Cinq Cepage.

I just bought a case of Guigal from K&L for $23.95 each. I hope the rumors are correct.

Anyone hear anything?

what did they rate it?

second question. what are you going to do with the wine?

WS 93

Keep some and drink it. See what the price does. If it goes up more than it should I will consider flipping some of it. I'm a big Rhone fan so I will likely keep most of it.

I'm not positive that this is the WOTY but that is what is being reported.

Wine Library also has it according to Winesearcher.

My purpose in posting was to try to confirm the rumor and give you all a heads up to purchase if the rumors are true.

I read that on the WS forum. I can't confirm it yet either. I have 5 liquor stores close so I did a quick, 30 minute pass of all 5 and none of them carried ANY Guigal products. Not really that unusual for Texas, the Wine Inhibited State.

I'll go crawl back into my hole now.

Rumor has it, as posted over on the Squires board as well. Secured mine through K&L a couple hours ago

Incidentally, with over 13,000 cases produced it seems unlikely that this would be much of candidate for flipping, imo.

Eric, obviously you don't buy your wine in Texas from the "Big Four" distributors. I will wager you that the shelves will be almost dry and the price 50% more on the remainder in Texas within two weeks that the WS magazine hits the shelves in Texas. I'll further wage it will continue to show up over the next two years in a piecemeal fashion. Seen it way to many times. Sad.

Top ten shamelessly stolen from the Parker Board:

#1: 99 Guigal CNDP
#2: 99 St. Jean Cinq Cepages
#3: 97 Banfi Brunello
#4: 99 Pine Ridge CS SLD
#5: 99 Whitehall Lane CS
#6: 99 Duckhorn CS
#7: 97 Antinori Brunello Pian delle Vigne
#8: 97 Frescobaldi Brunello Castelgiocondo
#9: 00 Ch. La Nerthe CNDP
#10: 99 Leoville Las Case

I guess flipping isn't the right word. I wouldn't be surprised if the Guigal goes up 25-30% in the next week. If the price doubles (doubtful) I would have to consider selling some.

WIML - Yikes, you are correct. I am fortunate in that regard, living in California. I was loosely basing my comments on previous top wines, such as the the 1998 Smith-Haut-Lafitte, which rated in the top 10 last year (94 points), almost 10k cases produced and it can still be found for around $40-$45 (from it's $36 original sticker price). I'm curious if you know what this is going for in Texas?

Anyhow, my condolences to you. Hopefully the recent decisions regarding shipping wine is a sign the tide is turning.

I think there is a distinct difference in what happens to the other wines in the top ten and the one that is bestowed with the hallowed WOTY.

If you want some of this while it's still under $30, you better buy it now.

The 13,000 cases will dry up soon, I don't know how much you picked up E.W. but I know there is one less case available because it's coming to GA's house!

Just my .02

ga-if this is true, this is about as bad as the spectator has ever done. maybe they should just change the name to marvin's travel and leisure. the guigal is a 90 point wine. i have not tasted the cinq, but based on prior, it is probably not a 95. the banfi brunello is a 88-89 point wine at best. i do not believe it.

EW,

I haven't seen a 1998 Smith-Haut-Lafitte in GOD knows how long.

GA,

Trust me. The top 10 can be very regional in nature. A lot of people in Texas place WAY TO MUCH emphasis on WS ratings. In previous years I have seen the entire top 10 sucked up within a few weeks after the ratings were released. I am certain, no evidence, that as soon as the buyers receive the ratings the stores are told to pull back inventory and increase the price on the shelf stock. It is then meted (sp?) out from there. The distributors do the same thing. On and On. It is really sad.

I don't know if this is bad or not.

Frankly I never even considered buying the last two WOTY, Ornelaia or Solaia. At well over a hundred bucks for a wine that very few could find on the shelf let alone afford. My only choice was to purchase them at grossly inflated prices over what I consider a C- original QPR before the price hike or to purchase them at auction. Still not a bargain. At least most people will get a chance to try this one. I have not had the WOTY for the last two years. I did try the 96 Cinq. at a tasting but I didn't purchase that either. I think the Brune et Blonde Cote Rotie was quite good in this vintage considering the price point and would have made a good choice as well. I for one am happy that the choice is outside of Italy for my own personal reasons.

I personally love most of Etiene Guigal's wines. I think he does a wonderful job year in and year out. I admit I haven't tried this wine yet but based on my past experiences I am relatively sure it will be a well made wine and drinkable at worst. The price is also attractive.

I hope most people are not happy with this choice. The Rhone is still one of the few bargains left in France. I'd like it to stay that way.

ga-guigal is a wonderful wine producer, probably in the top ten in the world. unfortunately the cdp is made primarily from purchased grapes and is not an example of one of their stellar wines. this choice is probably an outgrowth of marvin's lower wine prices forum and a belated honoring of one of the world's great winemakers, but at least choose the correct wine.

ojeffso2,

I'm guessing our palates are similar. I haven't had the Guigal yet and can't comment on it but now that WS has killed it there is a snow balls chance I will even get a chance to try it. However, I've had the Banfi and I pegged it at 90 points at the time. I had the Cinq one week ago at the winery and I gave it a 93. It was a bit too herbal for my tastes. That is a pretty big statement for me since I've been a big Cinq fan for a while before WS killed it with the 96 vintage.

ojeffso2

If you were going to pick a better representative wine from Guigal what would it have been? The 1999 Hermitage at around $50.00 a bottle? Just curious.

ojeffso-

None of these would be my top 10 even with a qpr criterion. The market to flip these is limited, especially given the production, and you would have to have bought them already, since this list is known by retailers in advance. Remember, last year.
In any event, if I didn't buy them to begin with, I wouldn't throw dollars at them now.

the lala cote rotie's are great if expensive wines, but the 98 or 99 d'ampuis will be great examples of what guigal is able to do. parker gave the 97 a 91+. i thought it was a 93 point wine. the 98 and 99's will probably be 94-97 pointers.

dr.t-like i said, it couldn't be any worse.

and one more thing. why don't they just call cinq cepages wine of the century.