2022 Gigondas Les Souteyrades Vieilles Vignes

In 2022, all four Gigondas reds are solid renditions at Domaine Saint Damien, mirroring the concentrated and expressive house style without going overboard in terms of power. While the impressive 2022 Gigondas Clovis Saurel and firmly structured Les Souteyrades Vieilles Vignes call for extended bottle aging, both the multifaceted La Louisiane Vieilles Vignes and the alluring Vieilles Vignes will be approachable earlier. Two thousand twenty-three, on the other hand, has produced equally enticing yet sexier and less markedly structured wines compared to 2022, with both the Gigondas Les Souteyrades Vieilles Vignes and Clovis Saurel showing the most promise at this early stage. As for the new Gigondas Blanc, 2023 is a good start, but the wine doesn’t yet claim its place among the appellation's finest, as the reds here clearly do.

Proprietor and winemaker Romain Saurel continues to deliver wines of striking quality within a modest price range. After studying oenology at the Centre de Formation en Œnologie de l'Université de Montpellier, Saurel worked at Clos du Caillou in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. This was followed by a stint at the Domaine de Mourchon in Séguret and a brief assignment at the Cave de Rasteau co-operative. Within the Gigondas appellation, Domaine Saint Damien spans 15 hectares of vineyards, of which ten are planted with Grenache, 2.6 with Mourvèdre, and the remainder split between Syrah and Cinsaut. From 2023 onwards, Saurel also plans to vinify a Gigondas Blanc. During my visit, Saurel told me that he currently replants Mourvèdre in favor of other varieties, such as Cinsaut, which matures with less potential alcohol and helps to bring freshness to a blend. The amount of whole clusters in fermentation and maceration depends on vintage and cuvée. In exceptional years, Saurel produces four distinctive Gigondas reds: the entry-level Vieilles Vignes, the long-distance runner Les Souteyrades Vieilles Vignes, the more refined La Louisiane Vieilles Vignes as well as the high-end Clovis Saurel from old vines with an average age of 90 years. On this occasion, all his 2022 reds were showing well. Due to severe frost damage in 2021, Saurel decided to bottle only the Gigondas Vieilles Vignes, which turned out to be outstanding. Today, fermentation temperatures hover around 28 to 29°C (82.4°F to 84.2°F), for slightly less yet longer extraction, while prior 2013, when Saurel's father Joël was still in charge, they usually ended up around 30 to 32°C (86°F to 89.6°F). Romain Saurel concedes that today, he looks for wines with slightly less tannic grip, allowing drinking windows that start earlier than in the past. Ninety percent of the wines are exported, of which almost half end up in the United States.