Wine & Spirits - October 2020 - 71

FOCUS:
GIGONDAS & VACQUEYRAS
Our blind panels tasted 57 wines from Gigondas and Vacqueyras for this issue. Our critic for Rhône wines, Tara Q. Thomas, rated 24 as
exceptional (90+) and 4 as Best Buys. Subscribers can find a complete list of wines tasted, and all reviews, at wineandspiritsmagazine.com.

278512

95 | Domaine
des Bosquets

GIG O N DA S
278516

98 | Château
de Saint Cosme

$138

2018 Gigondas Le Poste ^ In spring 2018, the
outlook for the vintage was bleak. "Never
before had we experienced so many issues
with mildew," Louis Barruol reported in his
annual newsletter. "When it rains every three
days and the temperature peaks at 28°C,
everything becomes very difficult." And yet
the estate's 2018 Gigondas are some of the
most profound wines we tasted this year.
Barruol credits the health of his vines, which
have been tended under organic principles
since his father, Henri, began working there
in 1957; they've been certified organic by
Ecocert since 2010. And there's also the quality of his parcels, such as Le Poste, a steep
two and a half acres of limestone soils that
his father planted to vines in 1963. At a cool
elevation of 918 feet, Le Poste yielded a wine
that's monumental in size and scope, clearly
built to last for ages. It feels all of a piece, with
no single flavor taking precedence. There's
hints of foie gras and leg of lamb layered into
fruit notes of figs and cherries, an enticing
play of freshness and funk, light and dark,
lift and gravitas. And the flavors last, held up
by a structure that promises to carry the wine
for many years in the cellar. § Craft + Estate/
Winebow Imports, NY
278514

96 | Domaine
de la Tourade

$35

2018 Gigondas (Best Buy) ^ If you visit Frédéric Haut at his estate, he might take you
on a tour of his Gigondas and Vacqueyras
vineyards in one of his many VW vans. This
wine is a virtual tour of the Gigondas side, a
blend of fruit from several parcels, fermented
in whole bunches with ambient yeasts and
aged in used 50-hectoliter barrels. It shines
in its clarity, the power and brightness of its
red-cherry flavor boosted by stemmy herbal
scents. The tannins are fine and sinuous, giving the flavors a bit of tenacity and playing up
the gaminess behind the fruit. Play up that
savory aspect with cellar time or braised lamb
shoulder. § Kindred Vines Import Co., Troy, MI

$70

2018 Gigondas Le Lieu Dit ^ This domaine
traces its roots back to 1376, the first mention of Les Bosquets as a vineyard. Julien
Brechet has run the estate since 2010, and,
in an effort to better understand the multiplicity of terroirs within Bosquets' 64 acres,
began vinifying small parcels individually;
by 2015, he'd begun converting the vineyards to organics and biodynamics. This
wine comes from a sandy northwest-facing
parcel surrounded by woods, the vines predominantly grenache. Mostly destemmed
and only lightly crushed, the fruit gave a particularly pretty, delicate Gigondas in 2018,
with rose scents on its bright red-cherry flavors. It feels pure and elegant, with notes of
fennel and cedar adding a sense of coolness
and restraint while, underneath, the firmness
of the structure suggests there will be more
to come with another decade in the cellar. §
European Cellars, Charlotte, NC
278508

94 | Domaine
des Bosquets

$70

2018 Gigondas Plateau ^ From a parcel
planted mainly to mourvèdre, mixed with
some syrah, cinsault, grenache and clairette,
this is distinctly darker than the other Bosquet Gigondas recommended here: It's dense
and chewy, with herbal notes and a sense of
stone riding under the black-cherry flavors.
For all the darkness, it feels cool and serene,
balanced by acidity that gives it a crisp line. It
also feels like it's holding back from showing
all its cards; give this several years in the cellar to relax. § European Cellars, Charlotte, NC
278511

94 | Château
de Saint Cosme

$138

2018 Gigondas Hominis Fides ^ When Louis
Barruol's ancestors planted Hominis Fides
some 90 years ago, they hoped to mitigate
unpredictable weather by including alicante,
aramon, carignan and a host of other varieties among the grenache plantings. They also
chose a spot where the movement of two
geological faults brought Miocene limestone
sand to the surface. That fast-draining soil

and the mix of vines were fortuitous choices
for a wet vintage like 2018. The wine shines
bright and deep, quickly moving past toasty
oak notes (20 percent of the lot aged in new
barrels). Then it's all spiced cherries, wild
thyme and rosemary, the resinous edge of the
herbal notes adding cut to its generous build,
and echoing the fine tannic structure. The
wine lasts for days after opening, each sip a
liquid trip to Gigondas's garrigue-scented
hills. § Craft + Estate/Winebow Imports, NY
278503

93 | Domaine
des Bosquets

$40

2018 Gigondas Réserve ^ Julian Brechet's
flagship wine is an assemblage from the
varied terroirs on his 64 acres of vines. Fermented with ambient yeasts and 30 percent
whole clusters, it's juicy, salty, spicy and energetic, even as the flavors stretch out languorously under the textural weight of its alcohol.
The fruit feels dewy and fresh, with a crisp
pop of acidity to counter the gruffer aspects
of the wine's tannins-structural elements
that will keep this well should you choose to
cellar a case for the next ten years. § European
Cellars, Charlotte, NC

278507

93 | E. Guigal

$20

2016 Gigondas (Best Buy) ^ Like all of Guigal's wines, this was treated to extended
aging in house-coopered barrels. The two
years it spent in wood seems to have preserved the freshness of the fruit: The flavors
are herbal and spicy, with bright tart-cherry
flavors deepening to marasca cherry. It feels
full and lively, layered and elegant, delicious
now and structured to age well over the next
five to ten years. § Vintus, Pleasantville, NY
278501
WINE & SPIRITS

OCTOBER 2020

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Wine & Spirits - October 2020

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