2016 Chateau La Guirlande Languedoc 750 ml

Golden Rhône Ringer

Here’s how this story ends: with you taking home a case of this red Rhône Ringer, a Wine Access exclusive that took home 95-points and a Gold Medal from the Decanter World Wine Awards—a stunning feat for an under-$30 wine. It’s a purple-hued cornucopia of cassis and red fruit, laced with new leather and garrigue spice. 

If you are a fan of Rhône reds, clear some space, because the Château de Guirlande would command twice the price if it bore the label of one of that region’s prestigious appellations. The story begins like this: Ed, our VP of Wine, was at a friend’s book launch party in New York. When he overheard a third guest raving about the red wine they were serving, he had to try it. He put down his French 75 and grabbed a glass.

He was floored by the rich, crushed-raspberry palate, as well as by the notes of lavender, cassis, new leather, and spice—stunning complexity for a “party wine.” So he asked the bartender about it. She pointed him to the author’s agent, who was thrilled Ed asked—he loved the wine so much he’d had it shipped from London. They got to talking, and after downing a few glasses with the agent, Ed headed home with a bottle in his bag and a note in his iPhone: Guirlande Languedoc import?

It’s tough to say what the 95-point, $25 Château de Guirlande Languedoc red wine does better—embodies the kind of drink-anytime red value that makes us love the Languedoc, or sums up exactly what we do at Wine Access. Because when we taste a phenomenal wine for the first time, we don’t just say “that’s great” and leave it at that. Nope. We pick at the thread. We see where it goes. And when we get there, we bring back all we can for Wine Access members. 

That’s how we got this 95-point Gold Medal winner over here, because if Ed hadn’t gotten to work as soon as he got back home to Napa, the Guirlande would still be in France. But he had an importer friend with deep connections in the Sud de France contact the winery, and a month later, a pallet of Guirlande was en route to the West Coast, every last bottle earmarked for Wine Access members (and a few for Ed, of course). Done and done. 

Château de Guirlande belongs to the Muret family, who are firmly installed in the Languedoc via their best-known property, Domaine de Castelnau. At Guirlande, they are bottling exactly what makes the Languedoc ground zero for rich, value reds: Mourvèdre, Carignan, and Grenache that ripen exquisitely under the bright sun. The 2016 vintage in the South of France was outstanding, and the Guirlande delivers on that promise, big time. A 95-point Gold Medal winner for  $25. That’s a wine that calls for swift action—and will result in great pleasure.