Château Guiot Vendange 2007
Jessica Keyworth, Assistant Manager, Majestic Swansea
My visit to Château Guiot really brought home to me that winemaking is not an exact science learnt out of a textbook. There is no substitute for practical, hands-on experience and I greatly relished the chance to experience it in action. Having come from a farming background myself I know that the harvest is a very busy and hectic time. Timing is crucial to pick the grapes at their pinnacle.
On my first day at the Château I was astounded by the beauty of the area. Guiot is in the heart of the Costières de Nîmes region on the edge of the Rhône Valley, with loaming plains off set by a stunning mountainous backdrop.
The Château is near Nîmes, and is actually slightly below sea level, so Francois (the owner) informed me! This not only shields the vineyard from the mistral but allows just enough breeze to circulate the air, which helps to keep mildew at bay. On my travels around the neighbouring area I noticed that many vineyards had planted tall trees near exposed areas. This had been done to protect the vines against the wind which has a huge influence on this terroir.
Most of the work now is done in the winery itself. I didn't get the chance to do much actual grape picking as most of the vines are nowadays machine-harvested. This is done for speed and efficency and suits this terroir well. For the Château Guiot Rosé, the harvester worked through the night to collect the grapes. This was done so that the grapes arrived at the winery as cool as possible in order to preserve the fresh fruit flavours in the wine.
I also made a trip to the Mas des Bressades vineyard while in France, which is very near to Château Guiot. We were made incredibly welcome, and winemaker Cyril Mares took time out to give us a tour and explain about the area and even taste some barrel-ferments. This was my favourite part of the trip: the tasting! I was so excited to be able to taste some of their barrel-fermented Syrah from two different locations. It was quite extraordinary how different they were in character, having come from sites that were so close to each other. I also was lucky enough to try a barrel-fermenting Viognier; already the characteristics of the wine were apparent. The hiss from the barrels was quite eerie!
It was fascinating to taste all the different fermenting grape juices at various stages of ferment with Alain, the winemaker, Francois and Sylvia at Château Guiot. The change in the wines overnight was amazing, especially the rosé. The fermantation process is in fact very rapid. It really surprised me when Sylvia informed me that the rosé was finished, bottled there and then and ready to go!
Sylvia and Francois also had Scott Comyns, an Australian winemaker from the Tempus Two winery, to stay with them during the harvest. Numa and Alexi, their two sons, had previously been over to Australia and stayed and helped out at Scott's winery. Scott was as fascinated as I was; the Tempus Two winery is very large and it was instructive even to a winemaker to see how this small family-run vineyard operated.
I also met Jean, a close family friend who also helped with the winemaking and harvest. Jean had worked in some of the most prestigious wineries in Bordeaux and talked a bit about how things were done over there. He worked in the Mas de Graves area which is renowned for the production of light, crisp oaked Sauvignon, and had kindly brought a bottle of this sought-after wine for us all to try; it was fantastic!
Francois and Sylvia, who own and run the Château, along with their two sons were incredibly hospitable and welcoming. I am incredibly lucky to have been able to experience the workings of a live vineyard. Château Guiot produce excellent value wines. I was extremely impressed by the quality and style of all the wines that the Château produce. In particular I think that the Numa (named after Numa Cornut himself, and which Majestic occasionally obtain a small parcel of) is excellent. A fabulous meaty Syrah, 100% barrel fermented with full rounded tannins, juicy black fruit that truly shows off what this Château can do!