Winemaker Notes
The Gigondas Reserve comprises most of the production at Domaine des Bosquets. This wine is fermented in tank by natural yeasts with 30% whole clusters, then aged 12 months in French oak barrels of various sizes, then an additional 6 months in concrete.
Blend: 60% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 7% Mourvedre, 3% Cinsault
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
A musky, slightly earthy style of Gigondas - plum flesh and turned soil. There's raspberry eau-de-vie on the palate, with a touch of raspberry leaf herbality. An interesting spectrum of ripe and slightly unripe fruit flavours, with grippy, fairly unripe tannins and decent length for the vintage. Tarragon notes too.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Moving to the 2021s from bottle, the classic 2021 Gigondas Réserve checks in as 60% Grenache, 30% Syrah, and the rest a mix of Mourvèdre and Cinsault. It's a gem of a wine in the vintage, offering both red and black fruits, textbook peppery herbs, underbrush, and Provençal spice nuances, medium body, ripe tannins, and a good finish. This balanced, incredibly satisfying Gigondas will keep for a decade.
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James Suckling
A plush red with plenty of strawberries, cherries, bark and baking spices on the nose. Medium body with fine tannins and fresh acidity. Vibrant with a transparent character and a creamy core of red fruits towards the succulent finish. 60% grenache, 30% syrah, 7% mourvedre and 3% cinsault. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Already showing ample complexity, the 2021 Gigondas Reserve features scents of stewed black cherries, orange zest and something akin to the spices found in Campari. Full-bodied and ripe, it's hard to tell this is a 2021, as the texture is velvety, the finish long.
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Vinous
The 2021 Gigondas Réserve is elegant and laden with finesse. Wafts of ripe red fruits mingle with white pepper, mint, dried herbs and discrete shadings of cedar wood. Ripe tannins nicely structure this classic and red-fruit-driven 2021 Gigondas, concluding with notable refinement.
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Wine Spectator
A fleshy, suave, ripe red, with a beam of pure cherry, violet, black pepper and aniseed, while tobacco and wet earth add intriguing earthiness. Ripe yet fresh and savory, thanks to a bedrock of salt and iron. Focused and medium-weight, with oak spices and violet rounding out the well-meshed palate. Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Cinsault. Drink now through 2035.
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.