“La Guiraude” is a special cuvée produced only in exceptional vintages. This is a rare and spectacular wine. Composed entirely of organically-grown hand-harvested Syrah from vines over 30-years-old, fruit is whole cluster-fermented in concrete by native yeast, then aged in one to three-year-old French oak.

Alain Graillot has proved beyond a doubt that it is possible to make rich wines from the flat land near the Isère River confluence. These concentrated reds demonstrate all that is exciting about the Syrah grape: black fruit, intense aromatics, pepper, and spicy complexity underpinned by crisp acidity and fine tannins. They are difficult to resist young, but patient cellaring for at least five years is well-rewarded.

“A cloud of smoke, plus the aromas of freshly cracked black pepper and a freshly sharpened pencil, are married to subtle blackberry and blueberry fruit. Simultaneously ripe, sleek and very precise, this has almost Burgundian finesse at the long, cool finish. As it aerates, the tannins grow in intensity, suggesting this has excellent aging potential. The last vintage Alain Graillot bottled before his recent death.”
94 points, JamesSuckling.com, Apr 2022

“Spice-driven dark berry, cherry, peony and licorice aromas are sharpened by a zesty mineral flourish. Fleshy blackberry and bitter cherry flavors turn sweeter with air and pick up a smoky nuance on the back half. Shows fine definition and energy and finishes spicy and quite long, displaying gently chewy tannins and a resonating floral quality.”
91-93 points, Josh Raynolds, vinous.com, Mar 2020