15% alcohol. Good long dense cork with no more than 5mm of wine penetration. The colour is medium with some fading at the edge. Very aromatic nose with wild cherries in evidence. The mouth is equally vivid with flavours matching the aromas and excellent acidity in the finish. Good grip, and the alcohol does not stick out. The back label mentions power in a velvet glove, and the analogy is apt enough. Not a typical Gigondas, but very satisfying nevertheless, with thanks to the generous donor.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Best bottle so far. Drinking very nicely now, no sign of decline. Classic Rhone characteristics. Intense nose, good red fruit on the palate with some nice secondary elements. Really savoury. This had a spicy kick that I didn't notice in previous bottles. Enjoyable long finish.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Had a magnum with a mild-spicy Mexican stew with friends. Very accessible and balanced now versus almost four years ago. Cherry kirsch, blackberry pie, garrigue, wild herbs, and candied strawberries. Drink before 2023. Technical score: 90. Enjoyment score: 91.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Potent aromas of fresh and cooked berries with accents of earth, leather, spices, and black olive. Big body and tannins with moderate acidity, though not out of balance. Really quite lovely.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dark ruby, broody. No sign of age. "dusty" wild strawberry notes. Mineral/stones. Pepper. Perfumed - violets. Dense, fleshy body. Plenty of jammy fruit. Nice lift to the acidity, almost menthol like. Tannins much softer than before, becoming nicely integrated. perhaps a little too much heat on the finish, spirity. But actually drinks nicely.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
17/20 * * * VISUEL : grenat moyen OLFACTIF: épicé, clou de girofle et petits fruits GUSTATIF: gouleyant, généreux et riche. Notes de chocolat. Texture très agréable ENSEMBLE : très bon Gigondas, on se régale !
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Big southern Rhone. Spicy fruit and the garrigue touch seems a lot more prominent. Chunky fruit and tannin. Seems to be pretty harmonious though. Nicely polished.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
30 min decant. Very deep red. Subdued nose, not much fruit on the palate but very rich, disjointed. Very bitter tannins and some alcoholic heat on the finish. Overall, a dissapointment. Maybe storage issue? Or maybe shut down and too young.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Followed 5 Spotted Cows so was wary. But tasted very nice indeed. Plenty of red fruit, a touch of spice and some garrigue. Smooth and velvet mouthfeel, lovely acidity, and alcohol just about in balance. A pleasure to drink with mild beef chilli.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I tihnk this was much better than I recall from a couple of years ago. Opening up more and provides a more full bodied, flavorful Rhone experience. Especially after an hour plus open.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Drank from magnum, opened 3 hours prior to dinner and decanted gradually before and during dinner. Orange, violet color. Wonderful nose of kirsch, candied strawberries and black cherries, with a touch of garrigue, dirt, and leather. Palate follows with candied cherries, touches of raspberries and strawberries, and finishes with more leather, olives, and even a touch of tomato. This took 4-5 hours to fully open up so still ahead of it's prime. Paired great with honey-mustard, French-style chicken, roasted potatoes, and mixed Mediterranean salad.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Rouge brique intense, orangé aux pourtours, ce Gigondas présente un nez agréable d'intensité moyenne de fruits rouges, mais surtout tertiaire avec des notes animales, de cuir et de feuilles mortes. Belle présence en bouche, bel équilibre, malgré des tanins un peu secs, et longueur correcte. Moins concentré et complexe que le nez le laisse présager mais agréable.
Red-brick intense color, orange on the sides, sign of its evolution. We find nice and intense aroma of red fruits, but mostly animal notes, leather and dead leaves. Medium bodied, well-balanced despite lightly-dried tannins, and correct finish. Was expecting more concentration and complexity, based on the nose, but still a nice wine.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
From magnum. Really surprising and fundamentally different than the '07 Vacqueras drunk in parallel (also from mag). Dark ruby. Lovely nose of black plum, pepper, smoked meat, and underbrush. In the mouth, stacked, structured, and very masculine wine with great dark fruits, candied nuts, dark chocolate, and angular tannins. This is a far more structured and serious wine than the Vacq. This held up remarkably well for 10 days with just a cork in the cellar. It is not quite ready and I would hold the next btl til 2015 if I had one.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Biodynamic. Appealing nose with a classic combination of herbes de provence and ripe, dark, even stewed fruit. The palate follows suit but the alcohol is too strong. 15%. Definite heat on the finish. Nearly a nice wine but I reckon this was picked too late.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Issu de vieilles vignes de Grenache et de Mourvèdre, il charme à coup sûr avec ses odeurs de fruits noirs, de violette et de réglisse que l'on retrouve également en bouche. Profond et équilibré, il fait partie de ces vins qu'il faut avoir goûtés au moins une fois dans sa vie. Remarquable!!
Oxygéner en carafe 45 minutes et servir à 17 °C. Il escortera favorablement le sauté d'agneau estival et sa crème d'herbe, le ragoût de boeuf au vin rouge, le pot-au-feu, ou le rôti de magret aux pêches.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Apparence rouge sang dense avec un peu de lie malgré une décantation. Nez ouvert, framboise noire, prune bleue, noix de Grenoble, chocolat En bouche, une attaque charnue, du fruit noir bien mure, les tanins sont présent mais intégré, une persistance longue sur la noix de Grenoble. Je soupçonnais la contribution d'un bois âgé pour ses saveurs et arômes de noix de Grenoble mais je lis que ce vin n'a connu aucun contact avec le bois, (élevage en Cuve de Ciment), étonnant, serait-ce une marque typique de vieilles vignes de Grenache ?!...
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Grand Rhone Tasting (K&L Wines, San Francisco): Magnum. Medium center, tawny edge. Impressively deep, serious tasting tobacco-tinged red fruit. Positively chewy yet quite lively. Licorice and some back end heat emerge. Very good despite the slight alcohol showing and certainly not a simple, candied wine like many other minor 2007s.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I've yet to have a Rhone from 07 that I didn't like, yet this one seems just OK to me and since I bought 6 of them before trying--due to good price and to give me some Rhone to drink while my 07 CDPs improved--that is a bit disappointing. Will keep trying every few months with an open mind
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Nose of dark berries, cedar, and note of mulling spices. Mouth is medium but robust with the expected cherry and spice. All very well balanced with tannin and closing into a great finish as the heat from the alcohol kicks in. All in all, a complex, evolving mouth of wine. Went great with coq-du-vin.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Perhaps this bottle was cooked, but served off the wine list in a local restaurant. Tannins were exceedingly bitter and the fruit failed to show through wine. Some typical Gigondas spice and cherry. But I was disappointed. Was also served too warm so alcohol was quite forward. Again, perhaps a storage issue.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Deliciously ripe and juicy red cherry fruit. Some black pepper. Soft and smooth. But with enough backbone and ripe tannins to last some distance. With the fresh acidity it effortlessly slips down with barbecued lamb chumps. An excellent Gigondas from a pretty decent S Rhone vintage.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Beautifully balanced 'big' wine from the southern Rhone. Should be bigger given the full ripe sweet fruit and the high alcohol. But is just so well made, neither the fruit nor the alcohol dominates. Has a very velvet feel in the mouth. Soft, smooth and with nice depth. Lovely with a rib eye steak.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
12/12/2019 - Eudemis Likes this wine:
15% alcohol. Good long dense cork with no more than 5mm of wine penetration. The colour is medium with some fading at the edge.
Very aromatic nose with wild cherries in evidence. The mouth is equally vivid with flavours matching the aromas and excellent acidity in the finish. Good grip, and the alcohol does not stick out. The back label mentions power in a velvet glove, and the analogy is apt enough.
Not a typical Gigondas, but very satisfying nevertheless, with thanks to the generous donor.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/8/2018 - ccarter5181 wrote: 90 Points
Best bottle so far. Drinking very nicely now, no sign of decline. Classic Rhone characteristics. Intense nose, good red fruit on the palate with some nice secondary elements. Really savoury. This had a spicy kick that I didn't notice in previous bottles. Enjoyable long finish.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/4/2017 - jlhkiss Likes this wine: 90 Points
Had a magnum with a mild-spicy Mexican stew with friends. Very accessible and balanced now versus almost four years ago. Cherry kirsch, blackberry pie, garrigue, wild herbs, and candied strawberries. Drink before 2023. Technical score: 90. Enjoyment score: 91.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/1/2017 - moods wrote: 83 Points
Sort of ordinary. Short and maybe past its prime.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/11/2016 - ccarter5181 wrote: 89 Points
Very nice Rhone. Showing some bottle age in a good way.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/25/2016 - DTOK90 Likes this wine:
Potent aromas of fresh and cooked berries with accents of earth, leather, spices, and black olive. Big body and tannins with moderate acidity, though not out of balance. Really quite lovely.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/30/2015 - moods wrote:
Vibrant lifted nose. Not as dense as I'd have expected from a good Rhone vintage. In a dumb phase or past done?
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/12/2015 - Beebeat Likes this wine: 89 Points
Très bien. Pourrais patienter dans le cellier encore quelques années.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/2/2015 - moods wrote: 90 Points
Dark ruby, broody. No sign of age. "dusty" wild strawberry notes. Mineral/stones. Pepper. Perfumed - violets. Dense, fleshy body. Plenty of jammy fruit. Nice lift to the acidity, almost menthol like. Tannins much softer than before, becoming nicely integrated. perhaps a little too much heat on the finish, spirity. But actually drinks nicely.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/14/2015 - BoireBio Likes this wine: 85 Points
17/20 * * *
VISUEL : grenat moyen
OLFACTIF: épicé, clou de girofle et petits fruits
GUSTATIF: gouleyant, généreux et riche. Notes de chocolat. Texture très agréable
ENSEMBLE : très bon Gigondas, on se régale !
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/30/2014 - moods wrote: 88 Points
Big southern Rhone. Spicy fruit and the garrigue touch seems a lot more prominent. Chunky fruit and tannin. Seems to be pretty harmonious though. Nicely polished.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/21/2014 - ccarter5181 wrote: 85 Points
30 min decant. Very deep red. Subdued nose, not much fruit on the palate but very rich, disjointed. Very bitter tannins and some alcoholic heat on the finish. Overall, a dissapointment. Maybe storage issue? Or maybe shut down and too young.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/19/2014 - YoRi Likes this wine: 91 Points
Je confirme les notes de 2013 et j'ajoute 1 point.
Simplement délicieux.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/18/2014 - Double-A Likes this wine: 90 Points
Open and spiced, cherry jam nose. Rich, warm, flavourful and spicy palate. Dry with a sweet centre; long, savoury finish.
4/5
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/22/2014 - moods wrote: 90 Points
Followed 5 Spotted Cows so was wary. But tasted very nice indeed. Plenty of red fruit, a touch of spice and some garrigue. Smooth and velvet mouthfeel, lovely acidity, and alcohol just about in balance. A pleasure to drink with mild beef chilli.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/15/2014 - ddingley wrote: 90 Points
I tihnk this was much better than I recall from a couple of years ago. Opening up more and provides a more full bodied, flavorful Rhone experience. Especially after an hour plus open.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/7/2014 - Blauweiss Likes this wine: 88 Points
Ripe fruits, good acidity and length. Nice on it´s own as well.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/7/2014 - jlhkiss Likes this wine: 89 Points
Drank from magnum, opened 3 hours prior to dinner and decanted gradually before and during dinner. Orange, violet color. Wonderful nose of kirsch, candied strawberries and black cherries, with a touch of garrigue, dirt, and leather. Palate follows with candied cherries, touches of raspberries and strawberries, and finishes with more leather, olives, and even a touch of tomato. This took 4-5 hours to fully open up so still ahead of it's prime. Paired great with honey-mustard, French-style chicken, roasted potatoes, and mixed Mediterranean salad.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/10/2014 - Le Vinophile wrote: 88 Points
Rouge brique intense, orangé aux pourtours, ce Gigondas présente un nez agréable d'intensité moyenne de fruits rouges, mais surtout tertiaire avec des notes animales, de cuir et de feuilles mortes. Belle présence en bouche, bel équilibre, malgré des tanins un peu secs, et longueur correcte. Moins concentré et complexe que le nez le laisse présager mais agréable.
Red-brick intense color, orange on the sides, sign of its evolution. We find nice and intense aroma of red fruits, but mostly animal notes, leather and dead leaves. Medium bodied, well-balanced despite lightly-dried tannins, and correct finish. Was expecting more concentration and complexity, based on the nose, but still a nice wine.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/7/2014 - Neurowine1 wrote: 90 Points
From magnum. Really surprising and fundamentally different than the '07 Vacqueras drunk in parallel (also from mag). Dark ruby. Lovely nose of black plum, pepper, smoked meat, and underbrush. In the mouth, stacked, structured, and very masculine wine with great dark fruits, candied nuts, dark chocolate, and angular tannins. This is a far more structured and serious wine than the Vacq. This held up remarkably well for 10 days with just a cork in the cellar. It is not quite ready and I would hold the next btl til 2015 if I had one.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
10/10/2013 - henryd1 wrote: 86 Points
Biodynamic. Appealing nose with a classic combination of herbes de provence and ripe, dark, even stewed fruit. The palate follows suit but the alcohol is too strong. 15%. Definite heat on the finish. Nearly a nice wine but I reckon this was picked too late.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/21/2013 - philhamelin wrote:
Issu de vieilles vignes de Grenache et de Mourvèdre, il charme à coup sûr avec ses odeurs de fruits noirs, de violette et de réglisse que l'on retrouve également en bouche. Profond et équilibré, il fait partie de ces vins qu'il faut avoir goûtés au moins une fois dans sa vie. Remarquable!!
Oxygéner en carafe 45 minutes et servir à 17 °C. Il escortera favorablement le sauté d'agneau estival et sa crème d'herbe, le ragoût de boeuf au vin rouge, le pot-au-feu, ou le rôti de magret aux pêches.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/22/2013 - YoRi Likes this wine: 90 Points
Apparence rouge sang dense avec un peu de lie malgré une décantation.
Nez ouvert, framboise noire, prune bleue, noix de Grenoble, chocolat
En bouche, une attaque charnue, du fruit noir bien mure, les tanins sont présent mais intégré, une persistance longue sur la noix de Grenoble. Je soupçonnais la contribution d'un bois âgé pour ses saveurs et arômes de noix de Grenoble mais je lis que ce vin n'a connu aucun contact avec le bois, (élevage en Cuve de Ciment), étonnant, serait-ce une marque typique de vieilles vignes de Grenache ?!...
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/6/2013 - Goodwine4ever wrote: 87 Points
Rouge pourpre,disque évolué qui tire sur le orange,manque de finesse,aucune longueur en bouche,plutôt déçu.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/11/2013 - chatters wrote:
Lovely to begin with then turned into alcoholic red fruit...not sure what happened...
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/6/2012 - anonymoose12345 wrote: 87 Points
From magnum. Cherry, high acidity. Medium bodied. Short-ish finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/6/2012 - drwine2001 wrote:
Grand Rhone Tasting (K&L Wines, San Francisco): Magnum. Medium center, tawny edge. Impressively deep, serious tasting tobacco-tinged red fruit. Positively chewy yet quite lively. Licorice and some back end heat emerge. Very good despite the slight alcohol showing and certainly not a simple, candied wine like many other minor 2007s.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/23/2012 - ddingley wrote: 88 Points
I've yet to have a Rhone from 07 that I didn't like, yet this one seems just OK to me and since I bought 6 of them before trying--due to good price and to give me some Rhone to drink while my 07 CDPs improved--that is a bit disappointing. Will keep trying every few months with an open mind
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/17/2011 - jarfour wrote: 90 Points
Nose of dark berries, cedar, and note of mulling spices. Mouth is medium but robust with the expected cherry and spice. All very well balanced with tannin and closing into a great finish as the heat from the alcohol kicks in. All in all, a complex, evolving mouth of wine. Went great with coq-du-vin.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/31/2011 - MusignyBlanc wrote: 83 Points
Perhaps this bottle was cooked, but served off the wine list in a local restaurant. Tannins were exceedingly bitter and the fruit failed to show through wine. Some typical Gigondas spice and cherry. But I was disappointed. Was also served too warm so alcohol was quite forward. Again, perhaps a storage issue.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/25/2011 - moods wrote: 90 Points
Deliciously ripe and juicy red cherry fruit. Some black pepper. Soft and smooth. But with enough backbone and ripe tannins to last some distance. With the fresh acidity it effortlessly slips down with barbecued lamb chumps. An excellent Gigondas from a pretty decent S Rhone vintage.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/25/2011 - moods wrote: 90 Points
Beautifully balanced 'big' wine from the southern Rhone. Should be bigger given the full ripe sweet fruit and the high alcohol. But is just so well made, neither the fruit nor the alcohol dominates. Has a very velvet feel in the mouth. Soft, smooth and with nice depth. Lovely with a rib eye steak.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment