Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2020 Gigondas Hominis Fides, from a vineyard just across the road from Les Claux, is another elegant, medium to full-bodied beauty. It's not massive and shows the pure, seamless style of the vintage with beautiful darker berry fruits, loamy soil, graphite, and ground pepper aromatics. This layered, multi-dimensional, flawlessly balanced Gigondas is going to evolve for at least two decades.
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Wine Spectator
A rich, velvety red, showing both power and grace, this is introduced with heady steeped cherry and incense. Reveals raspberry coulis and charred plum flavors that race alongside black licorice and iron. The supple palate is quickly hemmed in by fine-grained tannins, with singed herbs and white pepper notes dancing through the long finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
Graceful and refined, this wine bursts with fresh cassis, blackberries, black cherries and blood orange on the palate. Framed by fine tannins, notes of fresh wild herbs and black peppercorn linger on the long, saline-mineral finish.
With bold fruit flavors and accents of sweet spice, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre form the base of the classic Rhône Red Blend, while Carignan, Cinsault and Counoise often come in to play. Though they originated from France’s southern Rhône Valley, with some creative interpretation, Rhône blends have also become popular in other countries. Somm Secret—Putting their own local spin on the Rhône Red Blend, those from Priorat often include Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In California, it is not uncommon to see Petite Sirah make an appearance.
The Southern Rhône region of Gigondas extends northwest from the notably jagged wall of mountains called the Dentelles di Montmirail, whose highest point climbs to about 2,600 feet. The region and its wines have much in common with the neighboring Chateauneuf-du-Pape except that the vineyards of Gigondas exist at higher elevation and its soils, comprised mainly of crumbled limestone from the Dentelles, often produce a more dense and robust Grenache-based red wine.
The region has a history of fine winemaking, extending back to Roman times. But by the 20th century, Gigondas was merely lumped into the less distinct zone of Côtes du Rhône Villages. However, it was first among these satellite villages to earn its own appellation, which occurred in 1971.
Gigondas reds must be between 50 to 100% Grenache with Syrah and Mourvèdre comprising the bulk of the remainder of the blend. They tend express rustic flavors and aromas of wild blackberry, raspberry, fig, plum, as well as juniper, dried herbs, anise, smoke and river rock. The best are bold but balanced, and finish with impressively sexy and velvety tannins.
The Gigondas appellation also produces rosé but no white wines.