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Sale
Red
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...
WS
91
Sale
Red
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...
12 FREE
WS
96
VM
94
Sale
Red
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...
12 FREE
WS
95
VM
94
Sale
Red
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...
VM
92
Red
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $29.90
12 bottles: $29.30
Darkly coloured. Lovely sense of freshness, florality and herbal detail. Fairly full and rounded, quite mature...
12 FREE
DC
93
JD
90
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $36.63
More wild strawberry, Asian spices, and Provençal garrigue notes define the 2020 Gigondas Le Fauquet, a...
12 FREE
JD
93
Case only
Red
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...
Case only
Red
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...
12 FREE
JD
94
VM
91
Red
375ml
Bottle: $21.72
Deep magenta. A highly perfumed bouquet evokes ripe cherry, boysenberry, lavender, black tea and smoky minerals....
VM
94
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $39.93 $40.80
94-95 Brilliant ruby-red. An exotically perfumed bouquet evokes fresh red and blue fruits, potpourri and botanical...
12 FREE
VM
95
JD
94
Rapid Ship
Red
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...
12 FREE
WA
93
VM
93
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $25.89
Red
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....
12 FREE
WA
90
Red
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...
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $32.94
A very expressive Gigondas with great Mediterranean herb character plus black olives. Powerful and structured, but...
12 FREE
JS
94
Red
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...
12 FREE
WA
96
VM
95
Red
750ml
Bottle: $42.99
12 bottles: $42.13
12 FREE
Sale
Red
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,...
JD
92
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
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...
DC
93
WA
93

Gaglioppo Primitivo Red Rhone Blend France Rhone Valley Gigondas

As with many European grape varietals, there is some debate regarding the precise origins of the Primitivo grape. Most people now agree that it probably came from Croatia, where it is still used widely in the production of red wine, and it known as Tribidrag. However, today it is a grape most commonly associated with the powerful red wines of Puglia, the heel of Italy’s boot, where the intense sunshine and brisk Mediterranean breezes produce grapes of remarkable character and balance. Primitivo is a dark grape, known for producing intense, inky, highly tannic wines, most notably the naturally sweet Dolce Naturale and the heavy and complex Primitivo di Manduria wines. Primitivo tends to be naturally very high in both tannin and alcohol, making it ideal for both barrel and cellar ageing, which brings out its more rounded and interesting features.


Primitivo is not the easiest grape to grow or manage, and it has had something of a difficult century. Indeed, by the 1990s, there was little interest in Puglian wines in general, and winemakers were neglecting their Primitivo vineyards and looking to other, more commercially viable varietals. However, the last decade has seen this grape come well and truly back into fashion, with new techniques and a heightened interest in native Italian grape varietals bringing Primitivo back into the spotlight. It is now widely loved for its intensity and ability to be paired with strongly flavored foods.

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.