Winemaker Notes
Blend: 80% Grenache noir, 15% Syrah and Cinsault (complanted), 5% Clairette.
Professional Ratings
-
Jeb Dunnuck
The old vines cuvee is the 2016 Gigondas Les Racines and comes from the oldest vines of the estate located around the domaine. The soils here lie around 200-300 feet in elevation and are a mix of broken limestone and clay, and the resulting wine is always blacker fruited, dense, and concentrated. Blackcurrants, black olives, exotic spices, and crushed rock notes all flow to a powerful, concentrated, tannic Gigondas that has remarkable purity and elegance. It shows the balance and freshness, as well as richness, that makes this vintage so compelling, and while it needs 2-3 years of bottle age, it's a profound, sensationally complex, layered wine readers shouldn't miss!
-
James Suckling
Very complete and complex wine that has intensity and elegance. Raspberry and rose-like perfume, this has a long, red-fruit core with dark spices wrapped deep into the heart of the palate. Detailed texture, the noble, long tannins cloaked in wild, red plums and berries. Terrific freshness here. Wow. Drink or hold.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Gigondas Les Racines was in its foudres at the time of my visit, but I still think it is the equal of the Brunier family's Châteauneufs. Full-bodied and rich but silky and almost lacy in texture, it marries raspberries and apricots with lovely herbal nuances and a lingering finish. It's a tremendous Gigondas, made from 75-year-old vines (80% Grenache).
Range: 94-96 -
Wine Spectator
Juicy and a bit compact, with black currant, bitter cherry and fig flavors wrapped up behind notes of dried anise, singed alder and bay leaf. Shows sleek iron minerality through the finish. Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault and Clairette. Best from 2022 through 2032.
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.