2020 Saint Damien Gigondas Vieilles Vignes Organic, Rhone Valley

Looking at the Gigondas releases, the 2020 Gigondas Vieilles Vignes doesn’t give anything to the two single vineyard releases and offers awesome aromatics, full-bodied richness, a round, lush, yet pure mouthfeel, and ripe yet certainly present tannins. It’s loaded with Provençal, garrigue, and peppery goodness, and it’s going to be a brilliant value. This cuvée is an 80/20 split of Grenache and Mourvèdre raised all in foudre.

95-97 points jebdunnuck.com January 2022

80% Grenache (1964), 20% Mourvèdre (1977) fermented on skins for 5 weeks before ageing in large 50 hl old foudres for 12 months before bottling unfined and unfiltered.Domaine Saint-Damien is run by Joel and Amie Saurel and their son Romain who has now taken charge of the winemaking. The Saurel family had been tending vineyards for four generations, dating back to 1821, and until recently had been selling all of the grapes to negociants. In 1996 Joel resumed producing wine at the estate and in 1998 they brought on consulting winemaker Philippe Cambie.

Vinification is classic with wines being fermented in large old cement tanks and aged in either cement tanks or large old foudres for the Gigondas.Today the estate is comprised of 17 hectares of vineyards of which 12 are in Gigondas. All their vineyards are certified organic since 2012. The vines are an average age of 50 years and are very low yielding. The wines of Gigondas are bottled according to individual terroir (particularly soil type) known as the Saint Damien Trilogy.

80% Grenache (1964), 20% Mourvèdre (1977) fermented on skins for 5 weeks. Matured in large old 50 hl foudres for 12 months. Bottled unfined and unfiltered.