NOTES:
Opened this bottle at 5:30 upon returning home from work. Medium ruby-red in color and exhibiting a very earthy, very French-styled wine bouquet upon first sniffy-sniff. There is sweetness here amidst the green shrubbery. It smells like a creamy caramel dessert in the middle of thorny green bushes, that’s what this Gigondas smells like. Also here are savory herbs and spices complementing the outdoorsy feel of the nose. There is heat here, too.
Unfortunately Darcey lit some incense before I came home so what we are getting on the nose could well be hampered by this pungent Thai punk, so keep that grain of salt in your craw for these notes based on that.
This is the first Gigondas we have ever tried. We love French wine, the earthy quality, the honesty, the rustic nature as well as the polish, so much wine comes from France, and so much of it good. This particular region is rife with red clay soils, and this terroir certainly comes through on the palate. This is wine from the southern part of the Rhone … man, I’ve got to go there before I die.
This particular Gigondas is made from grapes produced in a Bio-Dynamic manner which is increasingly important to Darcey and I, so our thumbs are in the air on that note as well.
It’s still early on for this bottle, but the early sips reflect a medium-bodied mouthfeel with a lazy attack, the bulk of the explosion taking place in the mid- to back-palate. It is an intense acidic explosion, by the way.
The essence of dirt is palpable, in a very good way, and the tannins are what I would term “silty,” which makes me think of the red clay soils that these grapes grew up in. Nice sour cherry here, but somehow different than that tasting-note usually suggests. Yes, this is definitely rustic wine, but in that pedestrian climate one falls in love. Honesty. Simplicity in elegance.
As the night lingers the wine develops, becomes softer and rounder, and the tannins become finer, while not quite silky they can be described as a bit chalky; basically, they are finer than silt. There’s celery salt on the nose now, in addition to small strawberries and those little raspberries as well as a touch of wet bluestone. There is also undeniable fig and prune here as well; Darcey and I both quite independently got this. There is still a lot of alcoholic heat invading the nostrils too, however. There is also still quite an acidic kick in the midpalate, but now the overall experience coats most of the mouth as opposed to just the rear, which was the case earlier.
Hours later this Gigondas is showing about all it has to offer, which is not to say that it is bad, just rather … well … pedestrian. I think I said that before, no? It’s more a matter of not containing as much complexity as one might like. It’s a good wine, but not a 90-pointer. BUT WAIT, crap! Just as I wrote that I started to get a second wind with this Gigondas offering, realizing not too late that it DOES offer more, though subtle. The finish is quite nice, particularly for as light-bodied as this wine is. There is fruit AND vegetables here, and it all depends on the slant you take as you imbibe. It is delicious, and earthy at the same time. It is rustic AND polished (not too polished, but it has a certain elegance).
So, what do I think? Well, don’t listen to me. We liked this wine and thought it was worth the money, but only just. I think 89 points is a fair rating, perhaps even generous. It is a hard wine to rate given its subtlety, yet it didn’t really have me coming back eagerly for more, and that is telling. Am I glad I bought it? Sure. Will I remember it in a few weeks? Doubtful.
(Click here for an explanation of our ratings ...)
Our Rating: 89
Would we drink it again? 
Yes, but I wouldn't actively seek it out.
Would we buy it again? 
Likely not.
