Oof.

Those who know, know.

Ex Voto is the quintessential cult Guigal.

More modern in the creation and making than their neoclassical La La Côte Rôties, and lower in production, every collector of French wine clamor over them WHEN they are released, only in select top vintages.

There is so much to be said, but not enough time, or wine.

You’ll need the time you save with less we write, by grabbing much as you can. You’ll need the wine you buy for that astounding special night to carve an immortal memory out of our humble short existence on this gorgeous planet, called life.

We only found the below barrel assessment for the 2017 Ex Voto Rouge. This is (y)our chance to pile up before the 100-point scores start stacking up. With Guigal’s best of the best that’s just a matter of time.

Here’s a once in a lifetime wine… with him raving SO MUCH about it that we’re leaving the podium to his expertise:

97-99 Points – Jeb Dunnuck

“This reference point estate was created in 1946 by Etienne Guigal and has been one of the world’s greatest wine estates for over seven decades now. Today, it’s Etienne’s son, Marcel Guigal, and his son Philippe, who continue to keep Domaine Guigal at the leading edge of the appellation. As I’ve written in the past, one of my highlights tasting each year is with this team, which now also includes Jacques Desvernois, who was previously at Paul Jaboulet Aîné. As normal, due to the long élevage of most cuvées, we taste through four vintages of each of the main releases… While a lot is said about the extended élevage in new oak, I don’t know anyone who tastes mature examples of these wines regularly who has any doubts about the genius here. In short, these single vineyard Côte Rôties and Hermitages are some of the greatest wines money can buy. As to the Hermitage releases, there are three cuvées, a base Hermitage and a Hermitage Ex-Voto in both red and white. Guigals purchased their primary holdings in Hermitage from Jean-Louis Grippat (now 90-year-old Marsanne vines in the Les Murets lieu-dit) and Domaine De Vallouit (mostly in the Greffieux lieu-dit) in 2001. They also gained parcels in the lieu-dit Saint Joseph and Vignes de Hospice with the Grippat purchase. Today, they have parcels in Le Méal, Beaumes, Dionnieres, and Les Bessards. They release a tiny production cuvée called Ex-Voto only in top vintages, and the red sees the same four years in French oak as the single vineyard Côte Rôties. The 2017 Hermitage Ex Voto shows the sunny, sexy side of the vintage yet backs it up with a dense, concentrated style. Ripe black fruits, smoked earth, toasted bread, and exotic spice all define the bouquet, and it’s full-bodied, structured, and powerful on the palate. Like most 2017s, it’s going to have some early accessibility due to the wealth of fruit, yet it’s going to benefit from 5-7 years of bottle age.”*