Winemaker Notes
Pairs well with grilled steak, spicy pork sausages, and North-African inspired cuisine such as lamb tagine.
Blend: 65% Grenache, 35% Syrah
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The classic wine from this estate is the 2016 Gigondas (66% Grenache and 34% Syrah). Sporting a deep purple color as well as a meaty, rich, complex bouquet of sweet cherries, blackberries, peppered meats, and bouquet garni. Clean, balanced, with building minerality, it's a no-brainer purchase and is going to drink brilliantly for 10-15 years.
Range: 92-94 -
Wine Enthusiast
Whispers of dried thyme, rosemary and wild mint extend from nose to finish in this supple, silken blend of Grenache and Syrah. It's a penetrating wine full of succulent black cherry flavor but keenly balanced, too. The finish is marked by rambling minerality and very fine, soft tannins. Pleasurable already but will improve through 2030.
Editors' Choice -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A blend of 66% Grenache and 34% Syrah, aged in vat and foudre, the 2016 Gigondas is a notable effort. It's dark and muscular without being overdone, showing the suppleness to be approachable in its youth, yet with the potential to maybe even improve over the next year or two. Full-bodied, it delivers notes of cola, dried spices and ripe plums, all of which linger on the finish.
Rating: 92+ -
Wine Spectator
Ripe but restrained, with smooth waves of plum sauce, blackberry preserves and warm fig moving through, infused with light anise, black tea and alder notes. The fine-grained finish has sneaky length. Drink now through 2024. 350 cases imported.
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.