2021 Domaine du Gour de Chaule Gigondas Cuveé Tradition

Gigondas for years has been sold as a "cheaper version" of Chteauneuf du Pape which overlooks what it is--an absolutely delicious Grenache based red when in the hands of a great producer like Gour de Chaules. Heady, smoothy, and rib sticking. 

Several important vineyard sites form this Gigondas, including Gour de Chaulé, Les Blaches, and Les Bousquets. The Grenache vines average well over a half century in age, with low yields of 30-32 hl/ha. The grapes are never destemmed and there is a 3 week cuvaison with a small amount of press juice added back to the cuvée. The wine is racked into large oak “foudres” after malo where it stays for approximately 18 months, being bottled—unfined and unfiltered—three years after harvest. The resulting wine is sturdy, braced with sweet, dusty tannins, and is intensely aromatic with notes of crushed white pepper, oriental spices and game.