...richly fruity, elegant, and pure, this wine will be a winner... ROBERT PARKER

The Rhone Valley’s most successful producer continues to ratchet up the level of quality of his Cotes du Rhone cuvees, of which he produces hundreds of thousands of cases. Both Marcel Guigal and his son Philippe realize how important quality is and demonstrate that commitment in these lower level wines. They just get better and better, which is incredibly admirable.

The 2006 Cotes du Rhone exhibits a dark ruby hue that is slightly less saturated than the 2007. It possesses more pepper, garrigue, earth, and tar characteristics in addition to plenty of red and black fruit notes. Medium-bodied and juicy, it is best consumed over the next 2-3 years. ROBERT PARKER

Well-heeled collectors appreciate Marcel and son Philippe Guigal for their sensationally rich and multifaceted Côte-Rôties, some of the Rhône Valley’s most-craved cult wines. But this family operation is also the largest quality-oriented négociant (merchant) in the region, producing around 300,000 cases per year of basic red Côtes du Rhône. The key to the consistently high quality of this perennial value? The Guigals pay a higher price than their competitors for the best raw material, and they have historically used an unusually high percentage of syrah–as much as 50% not too many years ago but closer to 30% today–in their blend (most Côtes du Rhônes feature 80% or more grenache), which gives their version verve, spiciness, structure and atypical ageability. STEPHEN TANZER