Gour de Chaulé - ‘Tradition’, Gigondas, Rhône, France (2021)

TASTING NOTES

Intensely aromatic notes of crushed white pepper, spice and mineral-accented red strawberries and nectarine. Incredibly ripe and fresh, but with an emerging dustiness providing a lovely counterpoint on the back palate. This is bursting with raspberry, bitter cherry & orange peel, lavender, almonds and star anise. Yessss!

The Domaine du Gour de Chaulé, situated in the heart of the village of Gigondas, was founded in 1871 by Eugene Bonfils, the great-grandfather of the current proprietor, Stephanie Fumoso. All the wine produced at the estate was sold in bulk to negociants until 1970 when Stephanie’s grandmother began to bottle a small percentage of the estate’s wine for sale to private clients. Stephanie’s mother, Aline Bonfils, ascended to the head of the domaine in the early 1980s and it was under the direction of Aline that the tradition of estate bottling expanded significantly.

The domaine comprises 10 hectares (in 23 parcels) within Gigondas, and a small holding in Vacqueyras. Aline Bonfils believes strongly in Grenache as the heart and soul of Gigondas and she has transmitted this philosophy to her daughter, Stephanie, who became winemaker in 2007. 85% of the vineyards are planted to Grenache, with approximately 10% dedicated to Syrah & Mourvedre, and the balance planted to Cinsault. The family has always believed that minimal intervention in both the vineyards and the cave is key to preserving the essential character of the wines. Vineyards are farmed organically, and minimal sulphur is used in the cellar. Fermentation takes place in 6 concrete tanks (400 and 600 litres). The wines are produced from grapes that are not destemmed, an approach considered essential to providing the classic character of Gigondas.

Stephanie’s son Paul is now working by her side. One of his projects has been to isolate a spectacular vineyard of 100+ year-old, pre-phylloxera, own-rooted Grenache vines – ½ hectare planted by his great-great grandfather – for a limited production, single-varietal bottling beginning with the 2017 vintage. We can’t wait to share it.