Les Crus Du Sud, Gigondas, Southern Rhone, France, 2023

Grapes: A blend of 70% Grenache Noir, 15% Mourvèdre and 15% Syrah, sustainable farming, 12 months' ageing in French oak

Producer Tasting Note:

The wine shows lovely garrigue aromas, and a slight mint note. Generous and rich, this wine has a deep, dark cherry core. Chocolatey notes lead through to plush, velvety tannins and a subtly sweet-spiced finish.

Winemaking: On the lower reaches of the rocky limestone Dentelles du Montmirail, the higher and cooler vineyards of Gigondas can produce reds which add a welcome mineral structure to generous southern Rhône Grenache. This highly-regarded Cru was sanctioned in 1971. One of the higher southern Rhône appellations (along with Vacqueras and Beaumes de Venise) Gigondas was, in 1971, the first Côtes du Rhône Villages appellation to be awarded Cru status. Its vineyards rise from the Ouvèze river to the west, the Trignan to the north and up the rocky ridges of the Dentelles de Montmirail (to the East and South) to an altitude of 500m. Soils vary greatly but can be broadly grouped as limestone scree over marl (as in the Roux’s vineyards), various sandstones and clays on the mid-slopes and gravel stones and alluvial silt towards the river-bank. The stonier top-soils allow easy run off for rainwater to be retained in the red clay subsoils which nourish the vines in the drier months. Most vineyards are bathed in morning sun; sheltered by the Dentelles and with a mainly northerly aspect. Grapes mature more slowly and the harvest is later than other appellations; the extra time being highly suited to Gigondas’ dominant variety of Grenache Noir. A blend of Grenache with a small proportion of aromatic Syrah and Mourvèdre fermented in traditional 20hl concrete vats. The wine is matured for 12 months in French oak before release in the regulation appellation bottle, embossed with a coat of arms featuring the 15th century hunting horn of the family of Orange (past patrons of Gigondas) and an olive branch marking the return of plots, planted after phylloxera with olive groves, to vineyards once more.

Food Match: The wine will match well with roasted duck leg, a selection of roasted root vegetables or beautiful cheese plateau