TN: Gigondas

[bills]

Last night I was in a Rhone mood:

1999 Dom. Santa Duc Cote du Rhone Vielles Vignes – a competent if not outstanding wine with typical Rhone nose, decent heft and some tannin.

1995 Dom. Santa Duc Gigondas Haut Garrigues – Wow! From the mundane to the surpassingly impressive. The nose on this wine had great underlying dark fruit with an overlay of vanilla and oak. Excellent structure, with abundant but soft tannins and exceptional length. This wine, at the age of 10, is a baby and is just starting into the area where you can drink it without feeling TOO guilty, but it has a long life ahead. Best Giggie I’ve tasted!

[Brad Ballinger]

Hi Bill,

Do you recall offhand if your Gigondas was the Prestige de Haut Garrigues? (Blue-bordered label instead of red.) I've been sitting on one of those for a long time, and it seems like I still don't need to be in a rush to open it.

[bills]

Yup - that's why I indicated it was Haut Garrigues.

No rush at all!!