Gigondas Réserve, Domaine des Bosquets, Southern Rhône, France, 2020

Described by Jeb Dunnock as “the Chambolle Musigny of the Rhône”, Domaine des Bosquets is home to the first Gigondas plantings of 1376, and is today run by Julien Bréchet. Since taking over the family Domaine in 2006, Julien has made a name for himself as one of the rising stars of Gigondas, with Josh Raynolds asserting that Julien “has quickly climbed to the top tier of not just the Gigondas quality ladder, but that of the whole Rhône Valley”. His wines are known for their finesse, with Julien now picking earlier to preserve freshness, using less oak, and now larger oak, to allow the elegance in the wines to shine through.The grapes were handpicked and very carefully sorted in both the vineyard and the winery. Each plot was vinified separately. The winemaking lasted approximately one month with three phrases: a cold soak with pumping over, alcoholic fermentation at 28°C with a mix of pumping over and punching down, and maceration on lees. Malolactic fermentation ended in mid-November. The wine was aged for 18 months in two stages. For the first 12 months, the parcels were aged separately, with Syrah in 228 litres oak barrels, Grenache in demi-muids of 500/600 litres and the Mourvedre and Cinsault in 228 litre oak barrels. This was followed by six months of ageing together in concrete tanks prior to bottling. Julien has 26 hectares of vines, which are up to 75 years old and lie at the foot of the Dentelles de Montmirail. He has identified three distinct soil types at different altitudes within his vineyards: marl at 250 - 300 metres above sea level; sandy clay at 200 - 220 metres; and blue clay at 170 metres. These offer the potential for varying ripeness levels and fruit characters in the wines. All the vines are cordon trained for optimum exposure and ventilation of the grapes, and the fruit is hand harvested and subject to rigorous selection. Julien is in the process of converting his vineyards to organic and biodynamic viticulture.

Food pairing ideas: these wines are best served with hearty foods. They will go great with casseroles and meaty stews, braised dishes and lamb shanks, as well as burgers and sausages. They will flatter roast chicken.

This wine has a complex nose of sweet blackberries, strawberries and violets with hints of sweet spice and cocoa. On the palate, it is full-bodied and excellently structured with supple tannins, bright acidity and concentrated fruit flavours. 45% Grenache/Garnacha , 35% Syrah/Shiraz, 15% Mourvèdre, 5% Cinsault .

Feature(s): Practising Biodynamic, Practising Organic, Vegan, Vegetarian
Winemaker: Julien Bréchet
Alcohol (ABV): 14.5 %
Acidity: 4.5 g/l
Residual sugar: 0.5 g/l
pH: 3.75