Winemaker Notes
The wines from this terroir have diaphanous aromas of bright fruit and delicate floral notes. They offer a mineral freshness and lacy tannins that bear witness to the high proportion of limestone present in the marl. An exquisite gustatory experience that offers a clear demonstration of the power of nature to link a wine to its place of origin.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Made from 100% Grenache, this wine doesn't just walk the line between power and finesse—it carves it with intent. The nose hits with a tight, complex weave of red cherry, rhubarb, pomegranate, violet, and wild thyme—both inviting and serious. The palate is taut and fresh, where white pepper and crushed stone thread through the fruit like static, adding grit to the gloss. Fine tannins wrap around the red core, giving it a kind of poised tension, while that marl-soil edge brings a mineral clarity that keeps things lifted and connected to its terroir. It's grounded and built to hold through 2035+. Aerate now if you want a glimpse, but make sure to hold a few more in the cellar.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A new bottling, the 2022 Clos des Hospices is crafted from Grenache Noir planted in the Derrière Vieille lieu-dit, where a double grafting program with white grape varieties was implemented. It reveals a slightly reductive yet elegant bouquet of dark cherries, violet, pepper and floral notes. The medium-bodied palate is both elegant and juicy, with impressive depth at the core, a tense mid-palate and fine-grained tannins that flow into a long, ethereal finish, enhanced by chalky dry extract in the aftertaste. As one of the tensest Gigondas in Benjamin Gras’s lineup, it shows remarkable aging potential.
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Decanter
Quite pale in colour, with dried Provençal herbs on the nose. Bright and aromatic. Only medium-bodied, no huge concentration or ripeness. Good acidity, with slightly fibrous tannins. A very drinkable, lighter style of Gigondas with definition and energy. Aged for 18 months in Stockinger foudres and terracotta amphorae. The wine is unfined and unfiltered.
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Wine Spectator
Offers a seductive perfume that is equal parts fruit -- cherry leather and raspberry tea -- and savory elements, with a pepper, incense smoke and herbal thread bringing energy. Rooibos tea and smoked meat notes linger on the long finish, stretched out with finely sculpted tannins. Shows nice restraint and energy. Drink now through 2032.
Grenache thrives in any warm, Mediterranean climate where ample sunlight allows its clusters to achieve full phenolic ripeness. While Grenache's birthplace is Spain (there called Garnacha), today it is more recognized as the key player in the red blends of the Southern Rhône, namely Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Côtes du Rhône and its villages. Somm Secret—The Italian island of Sardinia produces bold, rustic, single varietal Grenache (there called Cannonau). California, Washington and Australia have achieved found success with Grenache, both flying solo and in blends.
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.