April 7, 2024 - Color: very dark garnet
Nose: cedar, fresh tilled earth, blackberry
Palate: blueberry, blackberry, white pepper
Mouthfeel: mild, light, with a short finish
Paired with smoked whole chicken
August 19, 2023 - Lots of savory bacon and other meaty flavors along with deep plum and blackberry fruit. A wine of power over elegance.
(9/21/2021) A year after 1st tasting: Splendid wine. Really beginning to open up but some tannins still apparent. Châteauneuf-du-Pape: Eat your heart out!
(9/7/2020) A nearly opaque, intense, pull-out-the-stops Gigondas made by the master Yves Cheron. This 70% grenache, 30% syrah blend exudes fruit and warmth. A touch of tannin and alcohol bring up the end. I'd give it a higher score, but it was made without oak, having been aged solely in cement vats. So it's kind of like a rich cake with no frosting or an excellent steak with no seasoning. In other words, at this point it's rather one-dimensional. Perhaps this will change with age; I certainly hope so.
July 21, 2023 - Double decanted two hours before service. Dark red with a touch of browning. Initially very tannic and acidic, which straightened out in the glass over 15 minutes. A very fruity nose with really nice red fruits on the palate that makes it a good food wine. These should drink well over the next five years if handled well upon opening. I have eight more in the cellar, which is a good thing!
July 21, 2023 - Friday Group Brown Bag Tasting (EBCC): Double blind. Aromas of mocha, plum, licorice and black fruit. Medium-bodied. Soft tannins support mixed red and black berry fruit and spice. I'd have guessed this a bit older than 2017, but it's balanced and quite good. One of my favorites in the flight. (J&J)
July 3, 2023 - 6th of a case. The qpr on this is outstanding. Dark, very ripe fruits on the nose and palate. The fruit has nice persistency, with great tannins and acidity to give structure. The alcohol is high (14.5%), but it works ok nevertheless. This is a very tasty wine and should hold for another decade at least.
May 13, 2023 - This wine is drinking well beyond its price point right now. Consumed at a restaurant......open for about 45 minutes. It delivers a classic Gigondas experience.
April 30, 2023 - Generally similar to prior note, but the fruit seems a half step down. Acidity remains nicely intact, though, making the wine better with food (diverse offerings at the Oaxacan Colibiri) than on its own. Not sure I see much upside from here, so I’d drink now and in the next few years and am bringing in my window accordingly. CT pretty much bang on. 91 if scoring.
April 30, 2023 - PnP through VinAire, drank nicely right out of the gate. Nicely concentrated, medium bodied, spicy and fruit-forward but not jammy. Drinks above its price point and no sign of stopping any time soon. Should drink well for at least the next 2 years and maybe more.
Day 2 update: fruit receded leaving a more “old world” style, with glycerine and earth. Delicious.
March 17, 2023 - If anything it is getting worse. It is kind of charmless at this point.
February 17, 2023 - Delicious, great value. We gave it a quick quadruple-decant, and it showed full body, with flavors of cherry cough drops, eucalyptus cough drops, and lilac aromas. Hard to beat this one.