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750ml
Bottle:
$19.94
$22.00
12 bottles:
$19.76
Reveals red licorice, strawberry puree, creme de violette and fresh cherry flavors that are focused, perfumed and...
750ml
Bottle:
$124.95
$128.80
A showstopper, this is chewy, smoky and broad-shouldered in the best possible way. Reveals layers of blackberry and...
750ml
Bottle:
$124.95
$128.80
Opulent and broad, with a generous cascade of ripe plum and winey cassis notes wrapped in talc-fine yet sturdy...
750ml
Bottle:
$32.94
$33.60
12 bottles:
$31.92
Shimmering ruby-red. Spice-accented raspberry and cherry aromas are complemented by musky garrigue and floral...
750ml
Bottle:
$29.90
12 bottles:
$29.30
Darkly coloured. Lovely sense of freshness, florality and herbal detail. Fairly full and rounded, quite mature...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$36.63
More wild strawberry, Asian spices, and Provençal garrigue notes define the 2020 Gigondas Le Fauquet, a...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$30.28
Aromas of woodsy herbs, hints of lavender, cassis, and black cherry lead to a full-bodied, bold wine wine with...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$34.24
91-94 What looks to be a solid step up, the 2020 Gigondas Les Bergines offers more red fruits, spice, and leather in...
375ml
Bottle:
$21.72
Deep magenta. A highly perfumed bouquet evokes ripe cherry, boysenberry, lavender, black tea and smoky minerals....
750ml
Bottle:
$39.93
$40.80
94-95 Brilliant ruby-red. An exotically perfumed bouquet evokes fresh red and blue fruits, potpourri and botanical...
750ml
Bottle:
$31.83
12 bottles:
$31.19
Looking at the wines from the Southern Rhône, the 2019 Gigondas is medium to full-bodied and nicely textured, with...
750ml
Bottle:
$32.70
12 bottles:
$32.05
Raspberries and leather mark the nose of the 2018 Gigondas, which was tasted as a blended sample prior to bottling....
750ml
Bottle:
$18.80
12 bottles:
$17.42
A luscious and jammy red that is medium-full-bodied with ripe berry, dark cherry, currant, blackberry, fig and a hint...
750ml
Bottle:
$32.94
A very expressive Gigondas with great Mediterranean herb character plus black olives. Powerful and structured, but...
750ml
Bottle:
$67.99
12 bottles:
$66.64
Floral (roses) and tea-like notes grace the nose of the 2017 Gigondas Confidentiel. It's full-bodied, firm and...
750ml
Bottle:
$26.93
$28.00
12 bottles:
$26.60
The 2020 Gigondas is mostly Grenache yet includes 20% Mourv?dre and 15% Syrah, aged in larger foudre. This gamey,...
Pre-Arrival
Chateau De Saint Cosme Gigondas 2018
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$42.78
Moving to the wines from bottle, the base Gigondas from this estate is a perennial winner and readers can safely buy...
Grenache Lambrusco Red Rhone Blend France Rhone Valley Gigondas
The Grenache grape holds the honor of being the most widely planted wine grape varietal on earth. It has a long and impressive history, and has been the backbone of the some of the planet’s most respected and famed wine regions, blended with Syrah in regions such as Chateauneuf du Pape, and in certain other Loire and Languedoc regions where it reigns supreme as a single varietal wine grape. In other key areas, such as Spain’s La Rioja (where it is known as Garnacha Tinta), it is blended with Tempranillo to make that country’s signature red wine, and is widely used as a blending grape in other old and new world countries, due to its unique character and jammy, fruit forward character.
For a long time, the Grenache grape was somewhat looked down upon as an ignoble varietal, incapable of producing wines of any particular interest. However, times are very much changing - in the right hands, Grenache grapes result in astonishingly intense and complex wines, full of fascinating features, and capable of achieving plenty of expression. For a while now, Grenache has been a major player in Australian wines. While not yet quite as extensively planted down under as Shiraz is, the Barossa Valley is bringing out some of the finest examples of this grape’s wines in recent years.
Some grape species are distinct and unique varietals, clearly separate from each of their cousins. Others, like Lambrusco and Muscat, are more like umbrella terms, featuring several subspecies which show slight differences from each other from region to region. Indeed, there are astonishingly more than 60 identified varieties of Lambrusco vines, and they are almost all used in the production of characterful Italian sparkling wines. They are distinguishable by their deep ruby blush, caused by strong pigments present in their skins, and their intensely perfumed character.
Lambrusco vines are grown in several Italian regions, although we most closely associate this varietal with Piedmont and Basilicata. It has also been grown successfully in Argentina and Australia. The varietal suffered from a fairly lowly reputation in the late 20th century, due to bulk, low cost production of Lambrusco sparkling wines, aimed at markets across northern Europe and America. However, things are rapidly changing, and the older, more traditional methods of bottle fermentation are returning, along with a higher level of quality and expression, as consumers become more discerning and demanding. Many of the Lambrusco sub-varieties have their own established DOC, such as Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce, Lambrusco di Sorbara and Modena, where new regulations are keeping standards high and methods traditional.
Year in, year out, France enjoys its prestigious reputation as the producer of the finest wines in the world. With a wine making history which spans several thousand years and owes its expertise to the Romans, it comes as little surprise that this most highly esteemed of the Old World wine countries continues to impress and enchant both novices and experts to this day. Despite the rise in quality of wines from neighboring European countries, not to mention the New World, the French wine industry continues to boom, with up to eight billion bottles being produced in recent years. However, France prides itself on always putting quality before quantity, and the wide range in fine produce is a testament to the dedication and knowledge of the wineries across the country. Indeed, from rich and complex reds to light and aromatic white wines, French wines are as varied and interesting as they are enjoyable to drink, making this country a firm favorite for wine lovers across the globe.
The Rhone Valley of southern France is a particularly fascinating wine region, with a history that stretches back to at least six hundred BCE, when the ancient Greeks first began cultivating vines there. The region itself is split into two distinct sub-regions, with the northern sub-region being famed for its production of exceptional Syrah, Marsanne, Roussane and Viognier wines, packed full of interesting character and expressing the terroir found there. The southern sub-region is home to an enormous variety of grapes, and produces red, white and rosé wines, and some of the world's most famous and adored blended wines. The continental climate of the region is ideal for growing grapes, and the winds which blow from the Central Massif help temper the heat in the vineyards, leading to very ripe fruits holding plenty of flavor.