Winemaker Notes
Dark ruby color. Good intensity with notes of spices, red stone fruits, vanilla, liquorice and raisins. Complex, powerful and generous with hints of cherry liqueur, black and red fruit jam. This flamboyant wine shows perfect harmony between nose and palate.
Enjoy with wild boar terrine, beef stew with carrots, poultry dishes, tuna steak in red wine sauce. This Gigondas matches also spicy dishes such as Indian and Mexican cuisine.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Reveals red licorice, strawberry puree, creme de violette and fresh cherry flavors that are focused, perfumed and grounded by charred apple wood and smoky, graphite mineral depth. Silky and smooth, this is a pretty wine with nice harmony and medium length. Grenache and Syrah. Drink now through 2027. 1,000 cases made, 150 cases imported.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2021 Brotte Gigondas La Marasque is lovely and well-structured with a smooth palate. TASTING NOTES: This wine delivers balanced aromas and flavors of ripe cherries, aromatic herbs, and subtle earth notes. Enjoy it with a savory lamb stew. (Tasted: June 13, 2024, San Francisco, CA)
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A 70-30 blend of Grenache and Syrah, Brotte's 2021 Gigondas la Marasque delivers pretty strawberry and raspberry shadings, tinged with violets. In the mouth, it's medium to full-bodied, supple and easy-drinking, plump and expansive, nicely balanced and elegant.
Located in Châteauneuf-du-Pape since 1931, the Brotte family own 3 exceptional estates in the Southern Rhone Valley. Here, Grenache is king and flourishes with its expressive fruit and is masterfully blended with Syrah and Mourvedre to add freshness and structure. Focused on protecting the environment, all Brotte Family estates are certified Sustainable by the Terra Vitis organization. As well as estate-grown wines, Maison Brotte collaborates with other growers to produce top quality wines from other appellations, including Condrieu, Côte Rôtie, Gigondas and Côtes de Provence. Their entire portfolio is consistently highly rated by the industries top publications and always reliable.
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.