VARIETALS:   Grenache, Syrah,  Counoise & Mourvèdre

REGION: Southern Rhône, FRANCE

FORMAT: 12 x 750ml

AVAILABILITY:  20 cases

CSPC:       +513929

DRINKABILITY: now - 10 years

94 POINTS - Wine Spectator

Highly Recommended

"This is a brick house, with iron-clad grip coursing through the core of black currant, dried fig and blackberry reduction notes. Lots of bay, tobacco and juniper stride in on the finish, with a sprinkle of baker's chocolate for added length and tension. Needs a little time. Best from 2015 through 2025. 500 cases imported." (October 31, 2012)  

92 POINTS - Stephen Tanzer 
"The 2010 Gigondas tips the scales at 16% natural alcohol. Made from a blend identical to the 2011, it reveals lots of glycerin along with a big, exuberant, flamboyant bouquet of black and red fruits, crushed rocks, white chocolate and hints of garrigue as well as pepper. This meaty, full-bodied, dense 2010 will offer super drinking over the next 10-15 years.."    (October 2012, Issue #203) 

Domaine Santa Duc was founded in Gigondas 1874 and has been passed down through four generations. (Interestingly, the name Santa Duc is a reference to a spectacular species of owl which can be seen in the area). Yves Gras, who is a charming, handsome and completely hands-on oenologist and the brains and talent behind this operation, took over from his father in 1985. He is one of the great characters of the region and is renowned for producing wines which are powerful evocations of the local terroir.

 

In Southern France, the scrubland habitat of the dry calcareous plateaux adjacent to the Mediterranean is known as 'garrigue'. The intense aromas of native shrubs such as lavender, rosemary, sage, and thyme are an omnipresent feature of the garrigue landscape, and wines which are infused with these native aromas are highly prized for their typicity. (The soil of the garrigue is quite literally 'infused' - all of the above-mentioned shrubs exude aromatic oils which leach into the earth as well settling on the vines and grapes).

 

The wines of Yves Gras always demonstrate an immediately recognizable expression of the garrigue combined with a distinctive minerality from the sun-baked rocky soil. The grapes are farmed organically and harvested by hand, followed with a long maceration for several weeks and aging 18 months in casks.  Gigondas is one of the greatest values from the Rhône and this is an outstanding example that punches well above its weight - not to be missed!