2003 Gigondas Domaine du Pesquier

Vibrant and dark red color. Licorice and wet forest, black cherry on the nose. Earthy; tamed tannins with a good structure. A very tasty wine with more depth than I had expected that went beautifully with my white bean, radicchio, mushroom and red onion salad, as well as the sausage, broccoli rabe orecchiette in a garlic tomato sauce. My very first Gigondas.

I came so close to opening a 1998 Gigondas tonight with my dinner of escarole, white bean, and sausage stew. I see by your note, that you served the Gigondas with a similar dish, and you enjoyed it. At the last minute, I changed our wine to a light bodied 2000 Scavino Barolo. While, a good match, I think the Gigondas would have been better.
Congratulations on your first Gigondas. Just wait until you try one with a few years in the bottle.

Interesting, Diane. Why am I wishing I had a Scavino barolo instead of the Gigondas I had? LOL. Gigondas tastes French to me, which was enjoyable, but the Barolo would have been what I consider more my "wine home". The fascinating thing about wine is that there are so many possibilities, so many wines out there, and that we have the rest of our lives to try them all!!

Hi Paulo,

I have long harbored a prejudicial inclination that there is a loose genetically based correlation to wine preference. Preference could also loosely follow nationality association, too, I guess, which probably makes more sense.

For some foods, nothing works like a Gigondas. It is my second favorite wine region in the world, after Bordeaux. But they are somewhat apples and oranges. I sometimes wonder why I like Gingodas better than its more refined neighbor, Châteauneuf du Pape; and it again alerts me to how much association influences wine perception. There is just a hint more rusticity in Gigondas, which I associate with its region, hence the terroir, I think.

Once in a while you will find a Gigondas overpowering, mind blowing. If you should have the misfortune of inviting such a bottle among peers from competing regions, it will blow them away. You can barely taste another type of wine in the presence of a great Gigondas, just like a somewhat unrefined, earthy dinner guest of character will dominate dinner conversation.

Best,

Covert

nothing works like a Gigondas. It is my second favorite wine region in the world

Really? It stands out to you in comparison with the rest of the Cotes du Rhone villages? Or is it just that there are a few producers in Gigondas that you happen to prefer to those in the other villages?

[David M. Bueker]

nothing works like a Gigondas. It is my second favorite wine region in the world

Really? It stands out to you in comparison with the rest of the Cotes du Rhone villages? Or is it just that there are a few producers in Gigondas that you happen to prefer to those in the other villages?

A truly great Gigondas is a rare thing inded, as there are not many top quality producers. Cayron and St. Cosme can hit the mark on occasion, but not consistently. Pesquier is even more inconsistent. But when a Gigondas hits that mark it is a wonderful wine. The high proportion of Grenache does little to distinguish it from other regions though.

A truly great Gigondas is a rare thing inded, as there are not many top quality producers...But when a Gigondas hits that mark it is a wonderful wine..

Yes, I was just under the impression that producer style was the most important variation across the CdR villages and that terroir differences were fairly minimal (except for Brezeme).

I agree with David and Covert. The first Gigondas I had was a Domaine Font Sane in 2005. It was an incredible wine. I secretly admired some of the CdR villages over their big cousin across the hill. Gigondas and Vacqueras impressed me a lot with Rasteau and Cairanne together coming a close second.

The only reason why I purchased this wine yesterday was because I had had good experiences with Pesquier, including a CdR at Morrell's in NYC a couple of years ago. Both the CdR and the Gigondas tasted very earthy and rustic to me, which is why I enjoyed it. The wine was a perfect match with the garlicky orecchiette with broccoli rabe and sausage in a red sauce - a match made in heaven.

I look forward to tasting other Gigondas. What are some good producers and vintages you would recommend, Covert? I think this wine is equal parts of Syrah and Grenache.

In general, I go by producer and style, especially when I buy European wines.

What are some good producers and vintages you would recommend, Covert? I think this wine is equal parts of Syrah and Grenache.

I have a mixed case of top producers of the 1998 vintage. Font Sane is a good one, as Shaji mentioned. But I frequently just pick up whatever is on the shelf at a wine store and generally like it. The wine is great with outdoor picnics at my lake association and I usually carry one into a favorite Mexican French fusion joint in Spanish Harlem, which has spicy food. It is the only wine that I ever drink with food, except for once in a great while knocking down a fine Pomerol with a fat hamburger in Philadelphia.

There was just one Gigondas that knocked my sox off: 1989 Edmonde Burle Gigondas Pallieroudas (yes, 1989, not 1998). It is my memory of this great wine, which I had a whole case of, that prompted me to lay claim. It was a monster. I can still taste it.

Covert

[Jenise]

Covert, ever drink any aged Giggies? I picked up an 85 les Pallieres at auction this weekend, about which I may be sorry. But maybe not, and for $25, it's worth the fun of trying. At the same auction, I missed an 86 Goubert by nanoseconds. That said, I'm a little surprised that you call out the Gigondas so exclusively. I'd think many of the Vacqueyras would be as good/interchangeable, though I think generally they're considered more rustic though I don't in fact know why that would be.

1985 - that is some aged Gigondas, Jenise. I've been drinking through a bunch of 1998s and enjoying them immensely. My favorites have been Raspail Ay, Santa Duc, and Domaine Brusset - not all from the 1998 vintage.

Hey, Pesquier I like! I backed up the truck for some '01 Pesquier after WS gave it a poor rating, a 76 as I recall, and the distributor closed it out. Very rustic and nice, and no new oak at all, as WS complained?!?

Dave

That said, I'm a little surprised that you call out the Gigondas so exclusively. I'd think many of the Vacqueyras would be as good/interchangeable, though I think generally they're considered more rustic though I don't in fact know why that would be.

This comment and others in this thread (from Rashaan, David, and Shaji) seem to group Gigondas with Vacq, Rasteau, Carianne, and even more basic CdR Villages. Chateauneuf du Pape is the consensus top Southern Rhone red, but in my head, Gigondas was the clear second, with the other named villages in a third tier, followed by CdRV. Leave aside (if you can) the problems inherent in such generalities and the fact that personal preference is the ultimate arbiter. Did I have the wrong notion of Gigondas?

[Jenise]

This comment and others in this thread (from Rashaan, David, and Shaji) seem to group Gigondas with Vacq, Rasteau, Carianne, and even more basic CdR Villages. Chateauneuf du Pape is the consensus top Southern Rhone red, but in my head, Gigondas was the clear second, with the other named villages in a third tier, followed by CdRV. Leave aside (if you can) the problems inherent in such generalities and the fact that personal preference is the ultimate arbiter. Did I have the wrong notion of Gigondas?

Clinton, my comment has to be excused because I do not have a long history with wines from this area. I was not personally, though others may have been, lumping all the others in, just asking if Covert had given Vacqueyras wines much of a chance since he mentions liking rusticity. I have read, and it's also been my experience but maybe that's because I was expecting to have that experience, that Vacqueyras wines are generally even more rustic than Gigondas. I have found Rasteau wines a bit heavier and sweeter than a typical CdR, and have too little experience with Cairanne to generalize.

Covert, ever drink any aged Giggies?... I'd think many of the Vacqueyras would be as good/interchangeable, though I think generally they're considered more rustic though I don't in fact know why that would be.

Never. My lack of variety "problem" stems (no pun) from the fact that I started enjoying fine wine late in life, rather than in my youth when I had the constitution to drink copiously every night, when I could have experimented widely. Now, drinking semi-moderately only three evenings a week, I don't feel that I have time and space for anything but the best of the best (within my range of affordability).

That said, I still attend three picnics a year: two connected with my brother and one with my lake association. This Sunday is a brother occasion, so I will check out our local wine stores for a Vacqueyras. Last year at the venue (his significant's country house grounds - with pig roast) I brought a fine Gigondas as my special wine of the day. At each of these events, both I and the lady kind of sneak a special bottle each into the mix to enjoy alone among the throng drinking...whatever. Interestingly, she had snuck in a Chateauneuf of the same year. That side-by-side comparison prompted my original comment regarding the generic comparison. They were both very fine wines, and we both went back and forth to determine which was best. She stuck with hers and I with mine.

Three years ago to the same event I had brought a 1996 Sociando Millet. That was the last year that a few of the NYC chapter of the Hell's Angels attended (because of a legal association with my brother) and the biggest and ostensibly (you never know) toughest one asked me which the good wine was. In the name of grace I have regretted to this day that I did not share the SM, but instead poured for him a glass that I thought he might enjoy more, given that he was not normally a fine wine drinker - to put it mildly.

The SM was so wonderful that I went back to my car, as I had purchased six bottles that day, and brought bottle after bottle back to the party. It wasn't really ready to drink, and as much as it still isn't ready, I nevertheless plan to take a bottle (had to buy another six) of it also on Sunday to see how it has progressed. I will be prepared to share it with whomever expresses an interest.

[David M. Bueker]

Gigondas used to be the clear second place in the Southern Rhone, but while other areas have raced forward (e.g. Vacqueyras, Rasteau), gigondas has stood still, and so fallen back into the pack. There's still some very good wines, but you can do as well or better elsewhere.

Gigondas used to be the clear second place in the Southern Rhone...

Aha, but still, I haven't seen anyone give a terroir argument for why that would be so, and perhaps was just a function of the cluster of committed growers in the village?

[quote
Aha, but still, I haven't seen anyone give a terroir argument for why that would be so, and perhaps was just a function of the cluster of committed growers in the village?[/quote]

I am not sure how much terroir plays a role in these wines being different. As one drives south and the "Enclave de la Papes" appears just before Valreas, I wonder it makes all that of a difference. Certainly, a good wine is made in the vineyard and the microclimate of CdP has lend it that distinction. Many of the vineyards of Gigondas that cling on to the Dentelle des Montmirail, have a unique microclimate as well. But not all Gigondas are made equal. Some are more equal than the others. It depends where the vineyards are who is vinifying. Also, these villages are all visual distances from each other and they use the same varietals in the blend - Grenache, syrah, etc.. So, methinks that CdR Villages are elevated versions of CdR - both is quality and price.
Jenise mentioned that she found Rasteau to be on the sweeter side. Were you referring to Vin du naturel?

Gigondas used to be the clear second place in the Southern Rhone, but while other areas have raced forward (e.g. Vacqueyras, Rasteau), gigondas has stood still, and so fallen back into the pack. There's still some very good wines, but you can do as well or better elsewhere.

You may be right, but I find St. Cosme regular Gigondas to be unusually well-made wine at the near-$20 level year after year. My Vacquayras exprience (limited) has failed to impress comparably.

I lterally may have sold about 150 cases personally retail of the '98. When it first came out, both me and my customers were drinking it like water until the importer finally ran out. I haven't found the other ones to quite live up to the '98 but have always enjoyed them. Had th '03 with Thanksgiving Dinner in fact and thought it too was quite good...

[David M. Bueker]

Rahsaan,

I would not make a terroir argument for Gigondas superiority. Once one gets past CNdP I doubt there is much of a qualitative difference. The wines are indeed different, but I don't think there's a quality issue between Gigondas, Rasteau, etc. Gigondas seems to have the exact same numbr of good growers it always had, where other regions have added good growers.