Gigondas Maintains Its Tempo

BY JOSH RAYNOLDS | FEBRUARY 21, 2020

Gigondas, like the rest of the southern Rhône Valley, experienced lows and highs, in that order, in 2017. The low points came at the beginning of the year, when warm weather set off early flowering, and in May, when shatter severely affected Grenache, resulting in significant crop loss across the region. Fortunately, the remainder of the season was picture perfect, if warm, while the quality of the crop was very high.

High-altitude vineyards in Gigondas, like at Domaine des Bosquets, provide optimal conditions for wines full of balance and freshness.

2017: To Have and Have Not; To Have and Also To Hold

A mild winter got 2017 off to a fast start, which is always worrisome to growers in the region; they know all too well that the frost window here extends until the end of April. Those potential frosts were mostly dodged, but heavy rains, accompanied by abnormally cold conditions in May, brought widespread coulure (shatter) to the all-important and early-flowering Grenache. The unfortunate consequence was significant crop loss, up to 50% in many sites. Many producers compensated by leaning more heavily than usual on their Mourvèdre and Syrah, in particular, to make up for diminished production, which means that the resulting wines can show more cherry and/or dark berry character than in classic vintages. The greater presence of Mourvèdre and Syrah also gives the wines structure and grip to support the ripe fruit, which, in my view, is quite welcome. The extroverted fruit that marks the best wines will make the 2017s quite appealing on the young side, but it would be a mistake to think that these are wines to drink up quickly.

The Outstanding, Even Epic 2016s Continue to Make Their Case