Winemaker Notes
This wine is perfect with leg of lamb, beef with wine sauce, roasted pigeon, mushroom omelet, truffle omelet, game and cheese. This wine is perfect with many dishes.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This blend of 80% Grenache and 20% Syrah highlights plump, almost creamy, black-cherry and preserved strawberry flavors against a filigree of graphite and basalt. Matured in oak for 14 months, the concentrated, mouthfilling sip is framed by soft, soothing tannins and a peppery dash of spice on the finish. It's delicious young but should improve through 2028 and likely hold further still.
Editors' Choice -
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2018 Gigondas Cuvée 1806 is a more front end loaded Gigondas that has beautiful kirsch and black raspberry fruits as well as complex notes of spring flowers, forest floor, and candied oranges. With medium to full-bodied richness, a supple, soft texture, a good dose of ripe tannins, and a great finish, this Provençal, charming, undeniably delicious Gigondas is ideal for enjoying over the coming 8-10 years. This cuvée is 80% Grenache and 20% Syrah that was destemmed and aged in old barrels and tank, bottled unfined and unfiltered.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
As noted during my visit to the estate last year, there is no separate Excellence bottling this vintage, so the 2018 Gigondas includes the fruit from those old vines. It's slightly less concentrated than the 2019 or previous vintages, but don't discount it because it's more approachable and less of a long-term proposition—it's still a solid effort, with attractive spice and herb notes layered over ripe, silky fruit that recalls raspberries and blackberries, finishing fresh and vibrant.
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.