E. Guigal
Saint-Joseph Blanc 2023
Saint-Joseph
E. Guigal Saint-Joseph Blanc embodies the family’s belief that Saint-Joseph will once again become one of the Rhône’s most celebrated appellations. This wine is a testament to the region’s potential, offering both weight and complexity that reflect its exceptional vineyard sites. With a seamless balance of freshness, fruitiness, and structure, it delivers a captivating blend of pleasure and intrigue. Guigal’s expertise in white wines shines through, as this is a deceptively serious and sophisticated wine, showcasing their mastery of the Northern Rhône’s terroir.
VINEYARD
This wine grows from a parcel Guigal purchased in 2000 from J.L. Grippat. The vines, planted in steep slopes of gneiss with granite, average between 20 and 75 years of age. The Guigals had wanted to purchase some of Grippat’s holdings in Hermitage, but he refused to parcel out his land and insisted on selling the vineyards all-or-nothing. A visit to negotiate turned into a visit to this vineyard, and the Guigals fell in love and made the whole-hog purchase.
WINEMAKING
This wine, made from 95% Marsanne with 5% Roussanne, ferments in stainless steel after a slow press allows some skin contact. It ages in a combination of new (50%) and second-use (50%) barrels coopered by Guigal at Château d’Ampuis.
VINTAGE
The 2023 Northern Rhône vintage was marked by a cool, wet spring, an intense heatwave in August, and torrential downpours in September. The challenging weather caused mildew pressure, especially in regions like Cornas and Côte-Rôtie, while the heatwave stressed vines. However, the rains in September helped the vines recover. Despite these hurdles, the vintage shows promise, with wines demonstrating finesse, balance, and a classic expression of the region's terroirs, highlighting both challenges and quality.
TASTING NOTE
A complex nose of hazelnuts and yellow fruit accented by oak precede a full-bodied attack of round, fleshy fruit.
FOOD PAIRING
Starters, fish, goat cheese
Color
White
Blend %
100% Rhone White Blend
Appellation
Saint-Joseph
Alcohol
13%
Suggested Retail Price
$49.99
Reviews
Wine Advocate - November 20, 2025 "More mineral and complex than the generic Saint-Joseph bottling, the 2023 Saint-Joseph Lieu-Dit Saint-Joseph Blanc offers up aromas of Anjou pear, confit citrus, toasted nuts and spices. Medium- to full-bodied, dense and concentrated yet free of any fat, it is textural and complex, with a sweet core of fruit, lively acids and a resonant finish. This is a real success."
James Suckling - April 14, 2025 "Lovely aromas of peaches, wild flowers and almond powder in this balanced, flavorful and energetic Saint-Joseph. Medium-bodied with fresh acidity. Supple and relaxed, with a dense, fruity and floral finish."
Jeb Dunnuck - May 9, 2025 "Orange blossom, spice, and toasted bread notes all emerge from the 2023 Saint Joseph Blanc, a rich, medium-bodied white based on 95% Marsanne and 5% Roussanne, aged in 70% stainless steel and 30% used barrels. It has some classic Northern Rhône richer, honeyed style yet it stays lively and fresh. It's going to be outstanding."
Trade Materials
Other Wines by this Producer
Côte-Rôtie La Reynarde
Côte-Rôtie
From a steep Côte Brune vineyard planted in 2010 to honor the birth of Philippe Guigal’s twin sons, La Reynarde is 100% Syrah grown on granite, schist and iron-rich clay. In style, it sits between La Turque and La Landonne, showing a lifted and exotic floral character that differentiates it from the other LaLa’s, with a superbly precise density and length.
Saint Joseph Vignes de l’Hospice
Saint-Joseph
Guigal’s Vignes de l’Hospice is one of the finest sites in the Northern Rhone Valley. This steeply terraced vineyard used to be divided into three, but Guigal now owns majority of this parcel in order to restore perception of Saint-Joseph as an appellation of utmost quality. In fact, Guigal is often asked when they will produce a fourth “LaLa,” and their response is that their fourth single vineyard phenomenon of the Northern Rhone is already being produced: the Vignes de l’Hospice.
Côte-Rôtie La Landonne
Côte-Rôtie
One of the three “LaLa” wines that Guigal produces and are the most collectible wines of the Rhone Valley, La Landonne is a remarkable expression of terroir. And for good reason, La Landonne is situated on one of the steepest vineyards of the Côte Brune, a 45 degree slope that remarkably requires harvesters to start picking from the bottom of the vineyard and work their way up, placing grape bunches in bins that are set on sleds and dragged up the hill. Along with its position at the northern end of the Côte Brune and the fact it is the last vineyard to ripen, La Landonne is the mirror of the feminine and voluptuous La Mouline: it is a wine of driving power, defined by its dark fruit and structure. The first vintage Guigal produced was in 1978, after being planted in 1975 at the time of Philippe Guigal’s birth.
Côte-Rôtie La Turque
Côte-Rôtie
Of the three famous single-vineyard “LaLas” that Guigal produces and are the most collectible wines of the Rhone Valley, La Turque is the newest. This vineyard produced outstanding wines in the first half of the 20th century, but then was not used for wine production for nearly 50 years. The Guigals acquired the vineyard and re-planted it in 1980 and 1981, based on Etienne Guigal’s memory of the quality of the wines it once produced. The first vintage appeared in 1985. In both position and style, it sits between La Mouline and La Landonne: the complex soils lend an exotic character to La Turque, and its concentration and elegance exhibit the virility of the Côte Brune with the subtlety and femininity of the Côte Blonde.
Côte-Rôtie La Mouline
Côte-Rôtie
First planted by the Romans 2,500 years ago, La Mouline is the oldest and most famous vineyard of Cote-Rotie, and Guigal’s single vineyard bottling of La Mouline in the 1960s set off a quality revolution throughout the Rhone Valley. The stunning amphitheater is the most complex plot in Cote-Rotie due to its extremely steep slopes with expositions in every direction. Of the three famous “LaLas” that Guigal produces and are the most collectible wines of the Rhone Valley, La Mouline was the first and is the only one on the Cote Blonde, and its signature is an unbelievable exoticism, an irresistibly and unique lifted floral, black fruit, earthy, spicy perfume, its coiled power always in balance, seemingly endless.
Ermitage Ex Voto Rouge
Hermitage
Ermitage Ex-Voto represents the fulfillment of a longtime dream of Marcel Guigal’s to own vineyard land on the hill of Hermitage. Through the purchase of the de Vallouit and J. L. Grippat domaines in 2000, Guigal acquired four exceptional vineyard parcels on this legendary site. The 2001 vintage was the first release of this estate-bottled Hermitage red and white. The quality of the intense old-vine fruit is quite special, but given the Guigal’s already strong work in Hermitage, they decided to only release an Ex-Voto red or white when the wine is utterly exceptional and clearly superior to their appellation bottlings.
Ermitage Ex Voto Blanc
Hermitage
Ermitage Ex-Voto represents the fulfillment of a longtime dream of Marcel Guigal’s to own vineyard land on the hill of Hermitage. Through the purchase of the de Vallouit and J. L. Grippat domaines in 2000, Guigal acquired four exceptional vineyard parcels on this legendary site. The 2001 vintage was the first release of this estate-bottled Hermitage red and white. The quality of the intense old-vine fruit is quite special, but given the Guigal’s already strong work in Hermitage, they decided to only release an Ex-Voto red or white when the wine is utterly exceptional and clearly superior to their appellation bottlings.
Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc
Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Guigal produces an intensely concentrated, inviting and complex Châteauneuf-du-Pape that is almost unique to the region today. Their passion for Châteauneuf, the leading appellation of the Southern Rhône, runs as deeply as that for their home sites in the Northern Rhône. The combination of working with top fruit that has perfect ripeness, along with their extraordinary patience in the cellar, results in rich and full, yet savory, spicy, seamless and balanced wines. Wines to enjoy immediately but capable of aging, and, above all, wines that leave you wanting more.
Hermitage Blanc
Hermitage
Whites make up a small percentage of production in the Rhône, under 2%, but white wines are a little bit of a secret specialty at Guigal and today comprise 25% of their production. And for good reason, as the whites of the Northern Rhône are true discovery wines, immensely appealing and complex. They specifically display an expressiveness and brightness while also capturing the warmth of the area. Even more of a discovery is Hermitage Blanc, one of the least-known yet most intriguing wines of the Rhône Valley and in the small 309 acre Hermitage AOC.
Hermitage
Hermitage
Hermitage is one of France’s most spectacular and famous appellations, producing small quantities of extraordinarily intense and ageworthy red wine and tiny amounts of dry white. The entire vineyard consists of 309 acres planted on a single granite hillside on the banks of the Rhône. The Hermitage Rouge is the example of a racy wine, that manages to remain seductive.
