Gigondas Has a Reputation for Punching You in the Face. Does It Live Up to That?

Show Notes

Episode #227: Gigondas Has a Reputation for Punching You in the Face. Does It Live Up to That? 00:00

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KEY QUESTIONS

• What does Gigondas wine taste like?
• Does Gigondas really live up to its "punch you in the face" reputation?
• What grapes are used to make Gigondas wine?
• What's the difference between Gigondas and Châteauneuf-du-Pape?
• What food pairs well with Gigondas wine?
• How much should you expect to pay for a good bottle of Gigondas?
• Are the 2023 Notre Dame des Pallières Gigondas Les Mourres and 2023 Crous St Martin Gigondas Les Espaliers worth buying?

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Episode Overview and First Thoughts on Gigondas 00:31
Hello fellow Vintnerds! And welcome to The Wine Pair Podcast. I’m Joe, your sommelier of reasonably priced wine, and this is my wife and my wine pairing partner in crime, Carmela. And we are The Wine Pair! 

If you're new to our podcast, here's what we do: Every week we buy wines under $25 with our own money, taste them, and give you our brutally honest opinion on whether they're worth buying. Nobody pays us to review specific wines, we don't accept free bottles from wineries, and we're not afraid to call out a bad wine when we taste one. Decanter Magazine calls us fun, irreverent, chatty, and entertaining - so if that sounds like your vibe, welcome to our tribe of wine lovers.

Once again, the name this week came from Gina, so thank you Gina, but I think we are running out of names from our faithful listeners, so if you have ideas for names for our tribe, then send them our way, and if you have not been on the podcast, we’ll ask you if you want to do a quick interview and become world famous and be on the pod. 

Carmela, this week we are going to cover one of the great wines from one of the great wine appellations in the world called Gigondas. Technically, Gigondas is a wine region located in the southern Rhône Valley in the south eastern part of France. Now, later in the episode, we are going to talk about what exactly Gigondas wine is, what grapes are in it, how it is made, and all that fun stuff, but I thought it would be good to orient ourselves to the other great wines that come from the Rhône Valley because, look, if you want to be an aspiring wine nerd, and who doesn’t, you gotta know this shit. So, this is a favor from us to you. A gift. 

The southern Rhône is home to a lot of famous wines and appellations, many of which are designated as "Cru.” Now if you are one of those real aspiring wine nerds walking well down the path into nerd-dom, you know that the word Cru is a word that represents the best of the best of the best of any wine region. We talked about this a few weeks ago when we were talking about the Bordeaux wines from Costco’s Kirkland brand that were from the famous appellations of Pauillac and Saint-Julien, which are some of the best known and most renowned Crus in the world. The word Cru actually originated in Burgundy, and it translates to something like “growth” or “soil.”

So, we are going to talk about great wine regions from the southern Rhône - we are going to go through a list of the most famous appellations and Crus, and for each of these, we will let you know if they use the classic Rhône GSM or Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre blend in their red wines, and how they compare to Gigondas.

• Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  • The most famous of all of the appellations, and named for its historic connection to the Pope when the papacy was in France and not the Vatican. Look it up. It is considered the "undisputed royalty" of the southern crus.
  • GSM Blend: It is a GSM blend, and while up to 18 different varieties are permitted, the vast majority are blends dominated by Grenache.
  • Comparison to Gigondas: In comparison to Gigondas, it is typically much more bigger and heavier, sometimes called brawny. And more expensive. 
• Vacqueyras
  • Famous for: Being Gigondas' "little brother" and for vineyards in the lower, warmer areas of the Dentelles de Montmirail mountains
  • GSM Blend: They definitely make GSM blends,and at least 90% of the vines are Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre, but they often have more Syrah and Mourvèdre in the blend than Gigondas.
  • Comparison to Gigondas: In comparison to Gigondas, their wines are described as more accessible, rustic, and fruity, and is typically 20% less expensive.
• Beaumes-de-Venise
  • Famous for: Its sweet, fortified Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise, though its red crus have gained some recognition since 2005.
  • GSM Blend: Do they make GSM blends for their red wines? Sort of. The reds are primarily a blend of Grenache and Syrah; Mourvèdre is not used in much quantity here. 
  • Comparison to Gigondas: In comparison, their reds are considered potent and ripe where Gigondas has more finesse
• Rasteau
  • Famous for: Its powerful red wines and its Vin Doux Naturel (naturally sweet fortified wines).
  • GSM Blend: They do use GSM blends. The red wines are composed principally of Grenache and augmented by Syrah and Mourvèdre.
  • Comparison to Gigondas: Compared to Gigondas, they are known for what is called an "old-fashioned crunchiness" and a more rustic, meaty profile while Gigondas is considered more elegant
• Cairanne
  • Famous for: Its finesse and elegance, earning Cru status in 2016.
  • GSM Blend: They definitely use the "classic" GSM backbone with a 20% allowance for wha they call “accessory” varieties.
  • Comparison to Gigondas: In comparison to Gigondas, their reds are generally considered vibrant, fresh, and lighter on their feet, more suitable for earlier drinking than Givondas which tends to be heavier and needs some time to age. 
• Vinsobres
  • Famous for: It is known for being the northernmost Southern Rhône Cru, where the grapes are grown on high-altitude hillside terraces at the beginning of the Alps.
  • GSM Blend: They create GSM blends, and the blends must be at least 50% Grenache plus Syrah and/or Mourvèdre; because of the cooler climate, it often focuses more heavily on Syrah.
  • Comparison to Gigondas: In comparison to Gigondas, they produce a lighter, fresher style.
• Lirac
  • Famous for: Being one of the few crus authorized for red, white, and rosé, and for being a "rising star" and just across the river from Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
  • GSM Blend: They also use GSM as their core blend
  • Comparison to Gigondas: In comparison to Gigondas, their wines are known for fleshy, elegant, and lighter reds.
• Tavel
  • Famous for: Being exclusive to rosé; it has been referred to as "the wine of kings".
• Côtes du Rhône and Côtes du Rhône Villages
  • Famous for: Offering the region's broader classification for good-value everyday wines.
  • GSM Blend: Yes. These wines are anchored by Grenache but require a combined minimum of 15–20% Syrah and/or Mourvèdre.
  • Comparison to Gigondas: These represent the entry-level and mid-tier of the hierarchy. Gigondas offers a significant step up in consistency, aging potential, and character.

So, there you go. A little learning about the other famous wines in the southern Rhône and a good way to get to know Gigondas better. So, now we have two Gigondas wines we are going to taste and review today to let you know if either or both are wines we think you should run out and buy . . .

But first . . . we have to do our shameless plug.

Thank you for listening to us and for supporting our show, and know that we buy all of the wine we taste and review every week so that we can give you real and honest reviews. If you like what you’re hearing, please subscribe to our podcast and leave us a five star rating and review so we can grow listeners.

We also love to hear from you and we always respond so you can follow us on Instagram and Bluesky and TikTok at thewinepairpodcast. You can contact us on our website thewinepairpodcast.com, and you can sign up for our email newsletter there and you can also send us a note at joe@thewinepairpodcast.com and let us know about wines your want us to review or just shoot the breeze, we love chatting it up.

And, as we do every week, we’ll tell you someone we think you should recommend The Wine Pair Podcast to - because the best way for us to grow listeners is when you tell your family and friends about us - and this week, we want you to recommend us to anyone who loves Châteauneuf-du-Pape but doesn’t love the price because they just might find Gigondas to be the perfect alternative with similar power and grapes in the blend, but a less heavy approach and price tag.


Topic: WTF is Gigondas? 11:57

Ok, Carmela, I think it’s time to find out just what the eff Gigondas is, shall we?!? And, I should be clear that we are talking about red Gigondas wine. Yes, there is white Gigondas wine, and that should probably be an episode we do in the future. But not today!

The history of Gigondas wine spans over two thousand years, which is a story we hear a lot about wines from Europe. The name Gigondas comes from Roman times and  is derived from the Latin word jocunditas, meaning "exuberant pleasure" or "joyful.” Gigondas was founded as a site for rest and relaxation for soldiers of the Roman Second Legion, who are credited with creating the first wine estates in the area.

For some proof points, in case you want facts, archaeologists discovered a Bacchus-head (who was, of course, the Roman god of wine) in the region, providing physical proof that viticulture was established during Roman times. And, in the first century BCE, the Roman historian Pliny the Elder specifically called out wines made in the region.

Following the Roman era, winemaking was maintained by Catholic religious orders, notably at the monastery of Notre-Dame de Prébayon. As we always say, you want to find the wine in Europe, follow the monks!

The first written evidence specifically mentioning a vineyard within Gigondas dates to the 12th century. And, in the 14th century, and we have talked about this before, the Pope and the Vatican moved to Avignon, which is close to Gigondas, and as you might suspect, this significantly boosted regional winemaking. Because, the Catholics like wine. Especially popes!

Moving forward a few hundred years, official records from 1591 confirm the existence of a burgeoning wine trade in Gigondas. While the region is now almost exclusively red wine, documents from 1592 suggest that white wine was also commonly produced at that time. By the late 19th century, the quality of Gigondas wines began to earn national attention. In 1894, wines from the region won a gold medal at the agricultural fair in Paris. Which is nice.

Moving into more recent times, for much of the early 20th century, Gigondas kind of lacked its own distinct identity, and was often not sold on its own. Instead, its reds were often shipped to Burgundy to be used as "vin de médecine" to add strength and color to thinner wines. So, it just sounds like Gigondas sort of went up and down in terms of quality and recognition.

A pivotal turning point came in 1956 when a severe winter killed the region's olive trees. This led to a "renaissance" for wine production as farmers replanted their olive groves with grapevines. Moves to establish Gigondas as its own specific wine appellation began as early as 1924. It was officially included in the Côtes du Rhône AOC in 1937 and was allowed to add the village name to labels in 1951.  In 1971, Gigondas became the first Côtes du Rhône Villages appellation to be elevated to its own Cru status for red and rosé wines.

In recent decades, investment and improved vineyard standards have led to really high quality, with many critics now ranking Gigondas as a legitimate rival to Châteauneuf-du-Pape. As of September 2022, the appellation was officially extended to include white wines with 2023 marking the first modern vintage allowed to bear the Gigondas name. So really recent!

Gigondas wine has very strict practices it must follow. For instance, the blend always has Grenache as its primary grape, and the red wines must contain at least 50% Grenache, and up to 80%. It is also mandatory that Syrah and Mourvèdre must together make up at least 15% of the blend. A maximum of 10% is allowed for other authorized Rhône varieties, but Carignan is strictly excluded from red Gigondas blends. The reason for that seems to be about differentiation so that Gigondas is unique among its neighbors . The other authorized red wines allowed are Cinsault, Counoise, Muscardin, Picpoul noir, Terret noir, and Vaccarèse. 

In terms of wine making, the focus is on balancing the high sugar levels of the grapes with freshness and structure. In Gigondas, hand-harvesting is required, as is careful sorting called triage, not a joke, which means they have to select healthy, undamaged grapes. For something to put in your brainbox, triage means sorting or selecting in French, and has the same basic meaning as what they do at the emergency room. But not quite as serious. 

For fermentation, winemakers can use concrete or oak, and it is common for fermentation to happen at high temperatures with frequent pumping over or punching down - yeah baby. Whole stem fermentation is also often used. There is no official rule on aging, but the best estates will age for about 24 months in very large oak containers called foudres rather than smaller barrels, and modern winemakers often avoid new oak because it can overpower the wine and mask subtleties - which I agree with, and maybe why I have tended to like Gigondas over other similarly heavy wines from the area.

Finally, Gigondas is known as a big wine, so don’t be fooled, and often described as powerful, rich, full-bodied and densely structured. That means punch-you-in-the-face. However, Gigondas is said to balance that bigness with finesse and freshness. This is why they are considered a slimmer cousin to Châteauneuf-du-Pape. And, modern winemakers are moving to even more elegant styles that are less aggressive. 

But that’s enough information. I think it’s time to learn a little more about the specific wines we are drinking today. Whaddya say?


Gigondas Wines We Chose for This Episode 19:45

Usually, the wines we choose for our episodes are under $25, but this time around, we are closer to $30, and that is just the reality of a wine like Gigondas. So, we are breaking the rules a bit, but we are not crushing them, and every once in a while it’s good for us to share wines that would not normally make it onto the podcast. These wines we are drinking today should be relatively easy to find because I bought them at wine.com. Now, Gigondas is not a hard wine to find, but you are going to have to look for a shop with a good wine selection, and it’s helpful if they have a good French wine selection, but like we always say, go to your local wine shop and ask the person there to help you and they will be more than happy to. 

The first wine we are going to drink is the 2023 Notre Dame des Pallieres Gigondas Les Mourres which is 80% Grenache and 10% each Mourvèdre and Syrah. This wine got a 94 rating from Jeb Dunnuck, so that says something. 

The tech sheet for the wine is really rough in terms of translation, so I had to go to the interwebs to decode it. First, it says that the old vines are manually harvested and then 80% of the grapes are scraped. I didn’t know what that meant, but according to the interwebs, that is an odd or maybe bad literal translation that really means that 80% of the grapes are destemmed, and 20% are kept whole cluster. 

The wine is then fermented and macerated for 30 days in vats, so they leave the wine on the skins for a long time which is going to extract a ton of flavor and tannins. They control the temperature during that period so the wine doesn’t get “cooked” in the fermentation process. They are also doing pump-overs. After that, they separate the juice from the solids, and age it in concrete vats. Concrete is interesting because like a wooden barrel it lets in some oxygen, but unlike oak, it does not impart any flavors.  Another document I found on the wine said that 80% is matured in concrete and 20% in those large wooden foudres, so I am not really sure who to believe. 

A quick note on the winery. They say they are on a very old family estate, and that there are so many generations of the family that have been making Gigondas that they don’t know how many generations. However, the Domaine does date back to the 900’s. 

The second wine we are going to drink is the 2023 Crous St Martin Gigondas Les Espaliers. This wine got a ton of good reviews including 95 from Wine Enthusiast, 92 from Jeb Dunnuck, and a 91 from Vinous and sucky James Suckling. It is again a blend of 80% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre.

The tech sheet says the wine was hand-harvested and then had a 30 day vat vinification with some cap punching, a little pumping over which sounds sexy, and mostly aged in stainless steel with a small portion (they don’t say how much) in 228-litre oak casks for 15 months. They also say the wine is unfined and unfiltered. Another tech sheet I found said that the harvest starts with syrah, followed by grenache and finishes with mourvèdre which needs more time to mature. So, I thought that was interesting because it shows the order in which they do things. 

The wine is a collaboration between Harry Bosmans who is evidently well known in Rhône and Eric Bonnet of a winery called Domaine Bastide Saint Dominique which is actually in Chateauneuf-du-Pape where his family has been growing grapes for three generations. 

But, I think that is enough information - let’s get to drinking! We’ll take a quick break and be right back. And, if you have these wines or similar wines, drink along with us to get some participation points, which you can trade-in for free stickers. You just need to send me an email with your mailing address, and I will get those “I drink with The Wine Pair Podcast” stickers over to you!

LINKS TO SOURCES FOR THESE SPECIFIC WINES

• https://www.grapex.com/national-portfolio/notre-dame-des-pallieres/notre-dame-des-pallieres-gigondas-les-mourres/ 
• https://arrowine.com/products/domaine-de-notre-dame-gigondas-2020?srsltid=AfmBOorKq7Szbem_CNCRAg8wu5czpRJkm5gjwtmgLRPrnB3FFuAId7Mt 
• https://crousstmartin.com/wine/ 
• https://www.grapex.com/national-portfolio/crous-st-martin/crous-st-martin-gigondas-les-espaliers/ 

2023 Notre Dame des Pallieres Gigondas Les Mourres, 2023 Crous St Martin Gigondas Les Espaliers Wine Tasting, Pairing, and Review 25:05

Wine: Notre Dame des Pallieres Gigondas Les Mourres (Click here to find this wine on wine.com. We may be compensated if you purchase)
Region: France, Rhône
Year: 2023
Price: $28.97
Retailer: wine.com
Alcohol: 15%
Grapes: 80% Grenache and 10% each Mourvèdre and Syrah
Professional Rating: JD 94 Vivino

What we tasted and smelled in this Notre Dame des Pallieres Gigondas Les Mourres: 

• Color: Ruby red, nearly translucent
• On the nose: Matchstick, black licorice, fennel, spicy, smoky, plum, grapey, dried red rose petals, raspberry jam, cinnamon, Linzer torte, 
• In the mouth: Big but not overwhelming, flavorful, big from start to finish, opens up in the mouth, firm tannins, red plum, prune, plum skins, fleshy fig. Big but has elegance. Balanced.  

Food to pair with this Notre Dame des Pallieres Gigondas Les Mourres: Could cocktail it, meat wine, steak frites, ribs, cheeseburger, Big Mac, stew, eggplant parmigiana, stuffed flank, hearty foods
 
As a reminder on our rating scale, we rate on a scale of 1-10, with no half points, where 7 and above means that we would buy it, and 4 and below means that we are likely to pour it down the sink, and a 5 or 6 means we are likely to drink it and finish it, but we are probably not going to buy it. 

Notre Dame des Pallieres Gigondas Les Mourres Wine Rating: 

• Joe: 9/10
• Carmela: 7/10

Wine: Crous St Martin Gigondas Les Espaliers (Click here to find this wine on wine.com. We may be compensated if you purchase)
Region: France, Rhône
Year: 2023
Price: $29.97
Retailer: wine.com
Alcohol: 14.5%
Grapes: 80% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre
Professional Rating: WE 95, JD 92, JS 91, V 91 Vivino

What we tasted and smelled in this Crous St Martin Gigondas Les Espaliers: 

• Color: Deep ruby with lighter highlights on the edge
• On the nose: Earthy, herbs, meat, fleshy fig, plum, prune, black cherry, spicy, poultry herbs like thyme
• In the mouth: Big, some heat, round silky tannins, Fig Newton, prune, black currant, raisin, some red raspberry tartness

Food to pair with this Crous St Martin Gigondas Les Espaliers: Thanksgiving wine, turkey with gravy, fried chicken with gravy, pork ribs, spicy foods, cream foods with gravy, Linzer torte
 

Crous St Martin Gigondas Les Espaliers Wine Rating: 

• Joe: 8/10
• Carmela: 7/10

Which one of these are you finishing tonight?

• Carmela: Notre Dame des Pallieres Gigondas Les Mourres
• Joe: Notre Dame des Pallieres Gigondas Les Mourres

The Test: Did we nail the taste profiles expected from Gigondas? 39:43

• General 
  • Ripe red and black fruits, such as strawberry, cherry, blackberry, blackcurrant, and blueberry. Often feature a distinct meaty, black liquorice character
  • profile is heavily influenced by the "garrigue"—the wild herbs of the region—leading to notes of thyme, lavender, and white pepper
  • Typically high in alcohol with pronounced, firm tannins, keen acidity and minerality, often described as a "saltiness reminiscent of the sea"
  • When aged can get complex tertiary aromas of truffles, forest floor (undergrowth), leather, tobacco, and dark chocolate
• Notre Dame des Pallieres Gigondas Les Mourres
  • Winery: Its nose exhales an aromatic bouquet and a great complexity, on notes of very ripe fruits such as blackberry and cherry, wrapped by an elegant folded key. The palate is perfectly balanced, both concentrated and delicate, on jammy fruit and spices. The finish is long, extending on straight tannins.
  • JD: Both red and black fruits, peppery herbs, sappy flowers, and some gamey, truffly notes all shine in this beauty, and it's medium-bodied, with a pure, elegant mouthfeel, ripe, integrated tannins, and a great finish. It shows the pure, focused, elegant style of the vintage beautifully.
• Crous St Martin Gigondas Les Espaliers
  • Winery: Dark and deep ruby color with an intense nose of jammed fruits, black olives, and dark spices. Silky, elegant mouth, cheerful Gigondas
  • WE: Aromas of fresh roses, Carpentras strawberries, red licorice, flaky salt, and crushed stone rise with confidence. The palate is liquid silk—focused, laced with rose and anchored by fine tannins and quiet power. There's a tension beneath its elegance that hints at something deeper. A captivating stunner.
  • JD: This ruby/purple-hued 2023 offers a beautiful perfume of sweet framboise, red plums, pepper, and flowery garrigue-like notes in a medium-bodied, pure, elegant, balanced style. It should drink nicely right out of the gate.
  • V: Zesty blood orange, ripe red fruits, pressed violets and dried herbs introduce the 2023 Gigondas Les Espaliers, a full-bodied and juicy red with solid flavor concentration. Packing seamless tannins, the 2023 is distinctively crisp and winds down with a refined finale.

What is the verdict on Gigondas? 42:05
For a big wine, which we usually do not like, this is a balanced and excellent wine. Great gift wine and great fancy dinner wine.



And now it is time to head over to our news desk so that we can cover our wine in the news this week segment.

Wine in the news this week: French Wine's New North Star 42:37

•  https://www.wine-searcher.com/m/2026/07/french-wines-new-north-star 

Our wine in the news this week comes from Wine-Searcher, written by Barnaby Eales. Links are in the show notes as always, and his article is entitled "French Wine's New North Star." And when we tell you where the new North Star of French wine is, you will be surprised. It is Brittany!

Yes. That Brittany. The rainy, windy, gray-skied western tip of France that most of us associate with seafood, cider, crepes, and pretty much every French cliché that has nothing to do with wine. Brittany is quietly turning into a real, actual, serious wine region.

Until about 10 years ago, it was literally illegal to grow wine commercially in Brittany. French appellation law actually  banned it. It was only in 2016, thanks to an EU directive, that France finally lifted its own prohibition on Breton wine. And in the decade since, about 50 new winemakers have set up shop, planted vines, and started making wine that people are actually paying money for.

The biggest of them is a guy named Laurent Houzé, whose family used to make its living the traditional Breton way. His grandparents were cod fisherman, and he grew up in his family's creperie. Now he owns 14 hectares of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vines planted along the northern Brittany coast on volcanic rock, pink sandstone, and slate. He calls his estate Domaine des Terre Neuvas, which translates to Domain of the New Lands, and he named his first Chardonnay Le Fils de La Tempete, Son of the Storm. Which, for a Breton wine, is honestly a pretty perfect name.

Three former Champagne winemakers have quit Champagne, one of the most prestigious wine regions on Earth, and moved to Brittany to make wine there instead. One of them, Jean-Luc Corpart, used to run the vineyards for Piper-Heidsieck. He now grows grapes in southern Brittany. Which, if you know anything about French wine hierarchy, is like a Michelin-starred chef quitting Paris to open a food truck in Wisconsin.

So what is going on? Climate change is going on, that’s what.  Brittany has always been too cold and too wet for grapes to ripen properly. But temperatures have been slowly climbing, the region now has a real shift between warm days and cool nights, and the maritime climate keeps the acidity intact even when the sugars are getting higher. One local meteorologist told the article that scientists now project that Rennes, Brittany's capital, could be as warm as Bordeaux by the year 2100.

Retail prices in Brittany run between 12 and 35 euros. Most under 25, so they are reasonably priced wines They are being sold to locals, at the winery, and through independent wine shops. The whole industry is being built as an anti-snob project from day one. No synthetic chemicals, protecting biodiversity, deliberately keeping prices low so their neighbors can actually afford to drink the stuff.

Which is why, when you read a story like this, you realize the wine world is changing fast. The regions that dominated for centuries are getting hotter and drier. The regions that were considered not able to grow wine grapes are becoming possible. And the people showing up first are the ones with the least to lose. A creperie kid. An Argentine wine nomad. Three ex-Champagne guys who wanted to try something new.

So, Carmela, what do you think?


Listener Shoutouts 46:20
We have some fun listener shoutouts for this week, and we so appreciate when you reach out to use and tell us what you think, or what you are drinking, and so here are some shoutouts:

• Bradley -Hey! Just found your podcast and have been going through wtf episodes to learn more about varietals. Thanks for putting these out. Currently listening to the Carmenere and my wife and I went to the Casas del Bosque vineyard in Chile for our honeymoon.

Wines coming up in future episodes in case you want to drink along with us 48:00

• Vermentino: ​2022 Tommasi Poggio al Tufo Vermentino,​ ​2024 ColleMassari Melacce Vermentino​
• Chateauneuf-du-Pape: 2024 Costco Kirkland Chateauneuf-du-Pape, ​2023 Domaine du Vieux Lazaret Chateauneuf-du-Pape
• Gamay - Beaujolais, Morgon:  2024 Alois Lageder Schiava, 2023 Domaine Gaget Cote du Py Morgon
• Decoy wines: 2023 Decoy California Cabernet Sauvignon, 2025 Decoy Sauvignon Blanc
• Algianico Rosé: 2024 Feudi di San Gregorio San Greg Rosato, 2024 San Salvatore Vetere Rosato
• Schiava: 2024 Alois Lageder Schiava, 2022 Elena Walch Schiava
• Loire Crémant: Gratien Meyer Cremant de Loire Brut, Langlois Cremant de Loire Brut Rose
• British bubbly: 2018 Henners Brut Vintage

Outro and how to find The Wine Pair Podcast 48:47

Thank you for listening to us and for supporting our show, and remember, we buy all of our own wine and we do all of the writing and recording and editing to bring you a show every week because we absolutely love doing it, and our small little ask for you is that you please follow or subscribe to our podcast and also please leave us a nice rating and review  to help us grow our listeners - and a huge thank you to all of you who have done so already! 

You can also follow us on Instagram and Bluesky and TikTok at thewinepairpodcast. You can contact us on our website thewinepairpodcast.com, and you can sign up for our email newsletter there and you can also visit our “Shop Wine” section where you can find links to buy the wines that we rate as buys in each episode.  I will also note that on our website, if you are curious about a wine we have covered in the past, we do have a pretty good search functionality, so you can use that find wines you want to know more about. 

And we want to make content you care about and you like, so send us a note or DM us and give us some feedback or let us know if there are wines you want us to try or wine making areas of the world you are curious about - and we’ll take care of it! joe@thewinepairpodcast.com 

Alright, with that, we are going to sign off, so thanks again, and we will see you next time. And, as we say, life is short, so stop drinking shitty wine.

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q. What does Gigondas wine taste like?
A. Gigondas is a big, structured red built mostly on Grenache, showing ripe red and black fruit like cherry, plum, and blackberry alongside wild herb notes locals call garrigue: thyme, lavender, and white pepper. Tannins run firm and alcohol runs high, but well made bottles balance that power with real fruit and food friendly acidity rather than tasting harsh.

Q. Does Gigondas really live up to its "punch you in the face" reputation?
A. Not always. Gigondas has a reputation as a big, tannic, aggressive wine, and it can be intense: high alcohol and firm tannins are typical of the style. But well made examples are more balanced than that reputation suggests, pairing ripe fruit and structure with real elegance instead of pure brute force. Producer and vintage matter.

Q. What grapes are used to make Gigondas wine?
A. Red Gigondas is built mainly on Grenache, which must make up at least 50 percent and as much as 80 percent of the blend. Syrah and Mourvèdre together must account for at least 15 percent, and other varieties like Cinsault or Counoise are capped at 10 percent combined. Carignan is not allowed at all.

Q. What's the difference between Gigondas and Châteauneuf-du-Pape?
A. Both are Southern Rhône reds built on Grenache with Syrah and Mourvèdre, sharing similar power and grape makeup. The main difference is price and polish: Gigondas is often called Châteauneuf-du-Pape's slimmer cousin, typically costing less while modern producers push toward a more elegant, less aggressive style than Châteauneuf-du-Pape's bigger, more expensive reputation.

Q. What food pairs well with Gigondas wine?
A. Gigondas is a food wine built for rich, hearty dishes. Think steak frites, ribs, burgers, and stews, plus dishes like eggplant parmigiana or stuffed flank steak. Its fruit and firm tannins also stand up to Thanksgiving turkey with gravy, fried chicken, pork ribs, spicy dishes, and creamy sauces, making it a versatile match at the table.

Q. How much should you expect to pay for a good bottle of Gigondas?
A. Plan on spending closer to thirty dollars than twenty. Good Gigondas commonly runs from the high twenties into the thirties and beyond, noticeably more than everyday Côtes du Rhône. The appellation's bigger fruit, structure, and critical acclaim come with a real price premium, so budget past bargain territory if you want a genuine example.

Q. Are the 2023 Notre Dame des Pallières Gigondas Les Mourres and 2023 Crous St Martin Gigondas Les Espaliers worth buying?
A. Yes, both are worth buying. The Notre Dame des Pallières Les Mourres earned host ratings of 9 out of 10 and 7 out of 10 for its firm tannins and balanced red fruit, while the Crous St Martin Les Espaliers scored 8 and 7 for its silky tannins and dark fruit character. Both justify their near thirty dollar price.

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RESEARCH ARTICLES AND LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigondas_AOC 
• https://www.wine-searcher.com/regions-gigondas 
• https://www.wineenthusiast.com/culture/wine/guide-wines-southern-rhone-valley/ 
• https://www.openingabottle.com/a-first-taste-guide-to-gigondas/ 
• https://winegeeks.com/appellations/19.html 
• https://www.thewinechef.com/blog/gigondas-one-of-southern-rhones-finest 
• https://www.cellartours.com/france/french-wine-regions/gigondas 
• https://slowtours.com/blog/food-wine/a-taste-of-the-vaucluse 
• https://www.ventouxprovence.fr/en/reportages/parlons-de-nos-vins/gigondaswines.html 
• https://www.vins-rhone.com/en/cotes-du-rhone-cru-aoc-gigondas 
• https://www.thewinesociety.com/discover/wine-basics/grape-varieties/grenache-the-ultimate-grape-guide/ 
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenache 
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dentelles_de_Montmirail 
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teauneuf-du-Pape_AOC 
• https://www.intowine.com/gigondas-wine-rhone-valleys-value-alternative-chateauneuf-du-pape 
• https://www.forbes.com/sites/michellewilliams/2019/02/18/look-beyond-chateauneuf-du-pape-for-outstanding-southern-rhone-red-wines/ 
• https://quench.me/drinks/french-wine-of-chateauneuf/ 
• https://www.matthewsworldofwineanddrink.com/france-1/southern-rhone 
• https://www.idealwine.info/a-guide-to-the-appellations-in-the-southern-rhone/ 
• https://www.laithwaites.co.uk/blog/wines-around-the-world/rhone-valley-wine-guide 
• https://www.wineenthusiast.com/culture/wine/climate-change-elevation-wine-france/ 
• https://www.decanter.com/wine/gigondas-to-produce-white-wines-487576/ 
• https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2025/05/could-gigondas-blanc-point-the-way-for-the-future-of-fine-white-wine-in-the-southern-rhone/ 
• https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2022/09/gigondas-aoc-extended-to-white-wines-from-2023-vintage/ 
• https://wineanorak.com/2024/06/15/gigondas-goes-white-tasting-the-first-of-the-new-gigondas-blanc-wines/ 
• https://magazine.wein.plus/news/gigondas-aoc-is-extended-to-white-wines-from-2023-white-wines-made-from-traditional-varieties-may-bear-the-appellation-designation 
• https://magazine.wein.plus/news/aoc-gigondas-first-white-wines-go-on-sale-official-presentation-of-the-2023-vintage 
• https://www.winetourism.com/wine-appellation/gigondas/ 
• https://en.lespassionnesduvin.com/les-vins/rhone/gigondas-aop.html 
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%B4tes_du_Rh%C3%B4ne_AOC 
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mourv%C3%A8dre 
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrah 
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinsaut 
• https://wineanorak.com/2024/07/05/gigondas-a-major-tasting-of-the-2022s/ 
• https://www.winescholarguild.com/vintage-charts/french-wine-vintage-chart/rhone-valley-vintage-chart 

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FULL TRANSCIPT

Joe: 00:00
You know, Carmela, Gigondas is a wine that could change your life. Whoa! It's a big wine from the Southern Rhone in France, where the grapes are generally GSM blends, and the 800-pound gorilla in the region is Chateauneuf-de-Pop, which Gigondas is often compared to. Now, is all of that going a little bit over your head? Good. That's why you gotta listen to this episode and find out more about this wine that has more than an even chance to knock your socks off. Truth. Hello, fellow Vint nerds, and welcome to the Wine Pair Podcast.

Carmela: 00:36
Why it's it gotta be about nerds?

Joe: 00:37
I don't know. You'll find out. I am Joe, your samoyer of reasonably priced wine, and that was my wife and my wine pairing partner in Crime Carmela.

Carmela: 00:46
Hi there.

Joe: 00:46
And we are the Wine Pair. Woohoo! If you're new to our pod, your voice is changing. If you're new to our podcast, here's what we do. Every week we buy wines under $25 with our own money, we taste them, and we give you our brutally honest opinion on whether they're worth buying. Nobody pays us to review specific wines. We don't get free bottles from wineries. And we're not afraid to call out a bad wine when we taste one. Decanter magazine calls us fun, irreverent, chatty, and entertaining. So if that sounds like your vibe, then welcome to our tribe of wine lovers or mint nerds. Okay, once again, the name this week came from Gina. So thank you, Gina. But I think we're running out of names, Carmela.

Carmela: 01:23
Oh, come on, people.

Joe: 01:24
Yeah, we need some help here. If you have ideas for names for the tribe. Have we exhausted the list though?

Carmela: 01:30
I mean, there we have how many have we actually put out? A lot.

Joe: 01:34
I mean, maybe we'll take a break from it. I don't, who knows? But anyway, if you do have a name for our tribe, send them our way. And if you haven't been on the podcast, we'll ask you if you want to do a quick interview, become world famous, and meet Carmela in person over the phone. Really? Teams or Zoom or whatever.

Carmela: 01:49
Oh, I didn't agree to this. But I'd be happy to. It's at the top of my list. Really?

Joe: 01:54
See, there it is. Okay, Carmella. This week we're gonna cover one of the great wines from one of the great wine appellations in the world called Gigondas. And technically, Gigondas is a wine region located in the southern Rhone Valley in the southeastern part of France. And then later in the episode, we're gonna talk about exactly what Gigondas is, what the grapes are in it, how it's made, all that fun stuff. But I thought it would be good right off the bat to orient ourselves to the other great wines that come from the Rhone Valley, because I said this was a great wine region, so we might as well talk about it a little bit. If you're an aspiring wine nerd or vint nerd, and you know who doesn't want to be, then you gotta know this.

Speaker 1: 02:34
Oh my.

Joe: 02:34
So this is a gift from us to you, a gift. Free gift. You're welcome. The Southern Rhone is home to a lot of famous wines and appellations, many of which are designated as crew, C-R-U. Now, if you're one of those real aspiring wine nerds walking well down the path to wine nerddom, you know that the word crew is a word that represents the best of the best of the best of any wine region. Nerds or not. Right. It's just the best.

Carmela: 03:04
Do you remember Revenge of the Nerds?

Joe: 03:05
I do, I do.

Carmela: 03:07
I wonder if Gina's old enough to know that one.

Joe: 03:09
Oh, uh well, I'm not gonna speak for Gina, but I would assume so. I should I went right too quickly to yes. Okay, we talked about I've gotta I gotta now I gotta move on. We talked about this a few weeks ago. Sorry, Gina. We talked about this a few weeks ago when we were talking about the Bordeaux wines from Costco's Kirkland brand that were from the famous Appellations of Polyac and Saint-Julien, which are some of the best known and most renowned crews in the world. But the word crew actually originated in Burgundy and it translates to something like growth or soil. So there you go. Okay. So we're gonna talk about the great wine areas, appellations from the southern Rhone. We're gonna go through the list as quickly as we can of the most famous appellations and crews. And for each of these, we will let you know if they use the classic Rhone GSM or Grenache Serra Muvedre blend in their red wines and how they compare to Gigondas. Okay. This sounds kind of fun. I like it. Now remember, there'd be a quiz. Oh. No, there's never a quiz except for Carmela.

Carmela: 04:10
Wow. Yeah, see, after the show, he sits me down and he quizzes me.

Joe: 04:14
Listen, you've got to do better. Right.

Carmela: 04:16
And then he then I get, you know, a little bit of a like a little talking to. A little talking to, a little tongue lashing. Is that right? Tongue lashing.

Joe: 04:23
You you wish. I know. Wow. Wow.

Carmela: 04:25
And then we move on to the next week.

Joe: 04:28
Whoa. And that's not all we move on to. Okay. The first most famous appellation is Chateauneuf-de-Pop. It's named for its historic connection to the Pope when the papacy was in France and not the Vatican. Look it up. I don't have time to go through it. It's considered the undisputed royalty of the Southern Rhone Cruz. It is a GSM blend, and they allow up to 18 different varieties, but the vast majority of the blends are dominated by Grenache. And in terms of comparison to Gigonause, it's typically much bigger and heavier. Sometimes it's called brawny. Not like the paper towels.

Carmela: 05:02
That's the first thing that came to mind. But no, not like paper towels.

Joe: 05:05
And it's more expensive. Another one is I'm going to say these totally wrong. So, you know, if somebody from the Pronunciation Police wants to get back at me, it's totally fine. It's famous for being Gigonaz's little brother and for vineyards in the lower, warmer areas of the Dante de Monja mountains. I don't know how to say it, but I said it with a kind of like Right, right. You were trying. That was a good action. It sounded like it. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. They definitely make GSM blends, and at least 90% of the vines are Grenache, Syrah, and Mauvedre, but they often have more Syrah and Mouvedre in the blend than Gigandas, which is kind of interesting. And in comparison to Gingidas, their wines are described as more accessible, rustic, and fruity and less expensive. Another one is Boume de Vigny. It's famous for a sweet, fortified Mouscat wine, but it does have red wines, and they have gained some recognition since 2005. They sort of make GSM blends. The reds are primarily a blend of Grenache and Syrah. They kind of leave Muvedra out. They're like, sorry, you're not picked for the team this week.

Carmela: 06:09
Gosh.

Joe: 06:09
You know when you played kickball? Right.

Carmela: 06:11
Absolutely. You think it's the last one chosen?

Joe: 06:13
I don't. I sometimes was. I don't think you ever were.

Carmela: 06:16
Well, I don't remember. No. I was usually one of the captains.

Joe: 06:19
Yeah. Okay. Well, that's even better. You're the one who didn't pick me. Okay, anyway. I picked you in the end. That's true. I mean, look at us now. Look at us now. So many years. Sometimes anyway. Sometimes you wish you weren't picked. That's right. In comparison to Gigondas, their reds are considered potent and ripe, whereas Gigondas has more finesse. Kind of like me. Anyway, the next one is Rust.

Carmela: 06:40
You'd love to compare these things to you.

Joe: 06:41
I know. It's all about me. It's amazing. I know. Rasteu is famous for powerful red wines and it's Vindu Natural, which is natural sweet wines. They use GSM blends. Compared to Gigondas, they're known for old-fashioned crunchiness, is what the interweb said. They're a little more rustic, a little more meaty. Meaty is, you know, not some things you necessarily want in your wine.

Carmela: 07:03
Oh, right. But like you think it has the taste of meat, or they're comparing it to like it's gotten girth.

Joe: 07:09
No, like it will taste like game. We've had those ones.

Carmela: 07:11
I know, I know that's what I'm curious about.

Joe: 07:13
We don't love it. But gigondas is considered more elegant than these wines. Okay. A few others. Carrien, it's earned its crew status in 2016. They definitely use classic GSM blends. In comparison to Gigondas, their reds are generally considered vibrant, fresh, and lighter on their feet. So Gigondas is kind of interesting because sometimes it's comparatively more heavy, more heavy, or heavier, as sometimes I get called. And then in other cases it's more elegant. A little bit. Another one is Visombre. It's known for being the northernmost southern Rhone crew. The grapes are grown on high altitudes right at the beginning of the Alps, so that's kind of cool. They definitely use GSM blends. The blends must be at least 50% Grenache. And then in comparison to Gigonos, they produce a lighter, fresher style. Liras is one of the few crews in the southern Rhone that is authorized, authorized for red, white, and rose wines. And they're just across the river from Chateauneuf-de-Pop. So that's kind of cool, I guess. They definitely use GSM as their core blend. And in comparison to Gigondas, their wines are known for being fleshy, like sometimes I'm called, elegant and lighter. She gave me a look. She doesn't like that. Tavelle, we've talked about that before. That's all about rose. So GSM blend, all that kind of stuff, not relevant, but Tavelle is a great rose. And then there's all the general like Cote du Rhone and Cote du Rhone Villages. These are generally anchored by Grenache. Sometimes they're GSM blends, sometimes they're not. And it's very inconsistent in terms of how they would compare to Gigondas, but they're not going to be as heavy or as big or have as much aging potential as a Gigondas. So there you go. Little learning.

Carmela: 08:58
Wow. You ready for the quiz?

Joe: 08:59
No, no. You have to know them in alphabetical order.

Carmela: 09:02
I was if I was listening to this podcast, I would be like surprised.

Joe: 09:06
You are listening to I know true.

Carmela: 09:08
But if I was like to, I would be, I'd have to take my finger and keep rewinding it back.

Joe: 09:12
Wow. Or something. I'd be interested in that.

Carmela: 09:16
Yeah. Or whatever. Like sometimes, yeah, that's a better thing to do. But sometimes I'm like just trying to get back, like just like one minute. Just want to hear a little that I missed it. I feel like I missed it. Exactly. So I'd have to do that. Does anybody else have to do that?

Joe: 09:28
I don't know. Let us know. Send us a note at Joe at the WinePair Podcast.

Carmela: 09:31
Joe gives a lot of information in a little amount of time.

Joe: 09:34
And sometimes does it make your eyes water? We want to know.

Carmela: 09:37
Right. Or do you just want to like again, I don't know, rewind, keep rewinding, rewind.

Joe: 09:42
Remember Blockbuster Video, Be Kind, Rewind. Right, right.

Carmela: 09:45
That's how I feel.

Joe: 09:46
That's awesome. All right. So that was a little learning about other famous wines in the Southern Rhone and a good way to get to know Gigondos a little better. But we have two Gigondos wines that we're going to taste and review to let you know if either or both of them you should run out and buy. But first, you got to do our shameless plugs. That's right. So thank you for listening to us and for supporting our show. And you know, we buy all the wine we taste and review every week so that we can give you real and honest reviews. So if you like what you're hearing, please subscribe to our podcast and leave us a five-star, five-star rating and review so we can grow listeners. We also love to hear from you. We always respond so you can follow us on Instagram and Blue Sky and TikTok at the WinePair Podcast. You can contact us on our website, thewinepairpodcast.com, and you can sign up for our email newsletter there. And you can also send us a note, as I said, at Joe at the WinePair Podcast.com, and we just like to shoot the breeze with you. Totally. And as we do every week, we'll tell you someone we think you should recommend the Winepair Podcast to because that's the best way for us to grow listeners. When you tell your family and friends about it this week, we want you to recommend us to anyone who loves Chateau Neuf de Pop, but doesn't love the price. Ah. Because they might just find that Gigondas is the perfect alternative with similar power, similar grapes, but a less heavy price tag. I love it. How about that? We love quality. That's what this quality at a good price. That's what this podcast is all about. Right.

Carmela: 11:09
That's what we're searching for. That's always, especially Joe.

Joe: 11:12
On the prowl. On the prowl. That sounds weird, but okay. But I'm telling you, I don't know what I'm saying.

Carmela: 11:19
I don't know. I don't know. But I'm thinking about this mitten nerd the whole time.

Joe: 11:22
You're you're kind of troubled by it.

Carmela: 11:24
Yeah, well, no, I was thinking like that would be a good, like if you're talking to somebody about movies and you're like, oh my God, it's really funny because Revenge of the Nerds came up in a podcast I was listening to. I like that. And then I got to thinking about who were the two main characters in Revenge of the Nerds. Do you remember? It took me a little while. When you were talking about all that stuff, I was like, but she actually does. No, no, I don't know why.

Joe: 11:44
Okay, what were their names?

Carmela: 11:45
No. Do we think we should just wait and see if somebody else can come up? Okay. No, I'll say it. I'll say it. Okay. Their names, ready or not, were Lewis and Gilbert. That is awesome. I know. But anyway. I love it.

Joe: 11:58
But Carmela, I think it's time to find out just what the figondas is, shall we? Let's do it. And I should be clear that we are talking about red Gigondas wine. There is white gigondas, so that'll come up in the quiz a little bit later later, and maybe that'll be a future episode, but not today. We're all about red. Now the history of gigondas wine spans over 2,000 years, which is a story we hear a lot about wines from Europe. The name Gigondas comes from the Roman times. It's Latin, it's derived from the Latin word Jocunditas, which means exuberant pleasure. It's kind of fun. Gigondas, the town or whatever, the area, was founded as a site for rest and relaxation for soldiers of the Roman Second Legion who are credited with creating the first wine estates in the area.

Carmela: 12:45
How about that? Amazing.

Joe: 12:47
For some proof points, in case you didn't believe me, Carmela.

Carmela: 12:50
I was questioning you as always.

Joe: 12:51
Archaeologists discovered a Bacchus head, that of course is the Roman god of wine in the region, which provides physical proof that viticulture was established during Roman times. And in the first century BCE, the Roman historian Pliny the Elder specifically called out wines made in the region. So you know it's true. Only facts, only facts. She was gonna say something.

Carmela: 13:12
I figured I didn't I shouldn't go on any more tangents tonight.

Joe: 13:15
No, we'll like. Okay, following the Roman era, winemaking was maintained by Catholic religious orders. Oh my god notably the monastery of Notre Dame de Preyon. I mean, and I that doesn't surprise me at all. No, we always say this. If you're in Europe and you want to find the alcohol, go to the churches. And the monks. And the monks.

Carmela: 13:38
But yes, the monasteries, the churches, go to religion.

Joe: 13:41
Yeah, that's where you'll find it. They them Catholics, they like their wine. The first written evidence specifically mentioning a vineyard within Gigondas dates back to the 12th century. And in the 14th century, and we've talked about this before, we mentioned this earlier. The Pope and the Vatican moved to Avignon, which is close to Gigondas. And as you might suspect, this significantly boosted regional winemaking because, again, the Catholics, they like their wine. They do. You know, you gotta, it's part of the mass, but they just like to drink it anyway.

Carmela: 14:09
They do. Remember some of those Bible stories? Water into wine. First miracle.

Joe: 14:14
Come on, let's go, people. Okay, moving forward a few hundred years, official records from 1591 confirm the existence of a burgeoning wine trade in Gigondas. And while the region is now almost exclusively red wine, documents from 1592 suggest that white wine was also commonly produced at that time. By the late 19th century, the quality of Gigondas wines began to earn national attention. And in 1894, wines from the region won a gold medal at the Agricultural Fair in Paris, in Paris. That's what the French say Paris. Moving on to more recent times, for much of the 20th century, Gigondas kind of lacked its own distinct identity, and it was often not sold on its own. Instead, its red wines were often shipped to Burgundy to be used as what they call vent de médecin to add strength and color to thinner wines in Burgundy. So that's kind of interesting. So it seems to me like Gigondas kind of went up and down in quality probably over the years. A pivotal turning point, Carmela, came in 1956 when a severe winter killed the region's olive trees. They were all decimated. And so this led to a renaissance for wine production, and farmers replanted their olive groves with grapevines. And so moves to establish Gigondas as its own specific wine appellation began as early as 1924. It was officially included in the Cote de Ronne AOC in 1937 and was allowed to add the village name to the labels in 1951. In 1971, Gigondas became the first Cote de Ron Village's appellation to be elevated to its own crew status for red and rose wines. And then in recent decades, investment and improved vineyard standards have led to really high quality. And many critics now sometimes rank Gigondas as a legitimate rival to Chateau Neuf de Pop. Wow. So sometimes, you know, they're like, hey man, fighting it out. Yeah, play with us. As of September 2022, the appellation was officially extended to include white wines. Nice! Yeah, so pretty recent though. Yeah. Only the last couple of years. Gigondas has really strict practices. Okay. The blend always has to have Grenachas, the primary grape. It has to be at least 50% and up to 80%. And it's also mandatory that Syrah and Mouvedra must together make up at least 15% of the blend.

Speaker 1: 16:34
All right.

Joe: 16:35
A maximum of 10% is allowed for other authorized roan varieties, but Karinian is excluded from red gigondas blends.

Speaker 1: 16:43
Ooh, so they will not allow it.

Joe: 16:45
They don't allow it. And the reason for that We didn't like that. We didn't create it. We didn't love it on its own. But there's a reason for that. It seems to be about differentiation so that Gigondas is unique among its neighbors that sometimes use Karinion. Got it. The other authorized red wines are allowed are Sansot, Cunois, Mouscadon, Pique Paul Noir, Terra Noir, and Vacares. Now, in terms of winemaking, the focus is on balancing the high sugar levels of the grapes with freshness and structure. In Gigonas, hand harvesting is required. They have to harvest by hand and careful sorting called triage, not a joke. Triage is also required, which means they have to select healthy, undamaged grapes. And for some information to put into your brain box, triage means sorting or selecting in French. And yes, this is the same meaning as what happens in an emergency room.

Speaker 1: 17:39
Right.

Joe: 17:39
They select the people who need the help the most. That's right. So triage is something that they use for wine grapes and for people who are bleeding. It's not, it's just it's not quite as serious about the grapes. No. Well, unless you're in Gigo.

Carmela: 17:54
But when you're in triage, you begin to worry a little bit.

Joe: 17:57
Yeah.

Carmela: 17:57
So I don't know what that means about these grapes, but I'm getting stressed out.

Joe: 18:01
Don't stress out. It's okay. Okay, for fermentation, winemakers can use concrete or oak. It's common for fermentation to happen at higher temperatures with frequent pumping over or punching down. Yeah, baby. And whole stem fermentation is also often used. There is interestingly enough, there's no official rule on aging, but the best estates will age for about 24 months in very large oak containers called foudre rather than small barrels. And modern winemakers, so we'll like this. Modern winemakers often avoid new oak because they feel like it can overpower the wine and mask subtleties, which I agree with. Yeah, yeah. Think too much oak. So maybe that's why I have actually tended to like Gigondas a little bit more than other of these big wines. This is a big wine. Like don't don't don't kid yourself.

Carmela: 18:50
Don't sleep on this wine, apparently.

Joe: 18:52
That's right. Now, Gigondas is, as I said, is known as a big wine, and it's often described as powerful, rich, full-bodied, and densely structured. Sounds like someone you know, doesn't it? Oh yeah.

Carmela: 19:03
Now that's better. Yeah, you know.

Joe: 19:05
That means, although it's also it's punch you in the face wine.

Carmela: 19:08
Oh, well, we'll see. We'll see.

Joe: 19:10
And on that note, we'll see, is that it's said to balance that bigness with some finesse and freshness. Right. And so it's often considered a slimmer cousin to Chateau Neuf de Pop.

Carmela: 19:22
Nice. Yeah.

Joe: 19:22
And modern winemakers are trying to make more and more elegant and less aggressive styles. So we'll see if either the ones that we try today kind of fit that bill. But Carmela, I think that's enough information. I think we should learn about the specific wines we're drinking today. What do you say? Do it. You know, because you got to do what your significant other or SO wants. I'm waiting.

Carmela: 19:43
I'm just I can't I'm waiting.

Joe: 19:44
Okay. Usually, Carmelo, the wines we choose for our episodes are under $25, but don't get mad at me because this time around they're closer to $30. Whoa, whoa, whoa. But that's just the reality of Gigondas. It's just what you're gonna have to deal with. And so we're breaking the rules a bit, but we're not crushing the rules. It's not like it's $50. It's close. And every once in a while, I think it's good for us to share wines that would not normally make it onto the podcast because I think people are curious. Sure. So these wines that we are drinking today should be relatively easy to find because I bought them both at wine.com. And Gigondas is not really a hard wine to find, but you're gonna have to look for a shop with a good wine selection. And it's helpful if they have good French wine selection. And of course, go to your local wine shop, talk to the proprietor there. They they probably got gigondas on the shelf, and if they don't, they'd be more than happy to find it for you. The first wine we're gonna drink is the 2023 Notre Dame des Peliers Gigondas les Mourets. I don't know if I'm saying that right. It's 80% Grenache, 10% each of Mouvedre and Syrah. And this wine got a 94 rating from Jeb Dunning. The text sheet for this wine was a little rough in terms of translation. So I had to go to the inner webs to decode it. So first it said that the old vines are manually harvested, and then 80% of the grapes are scraped. I was like, scraped. Never heard that. Have you? No, I didn't know what that meant. So the inner web said that it's a literal translation that means that the grapes were destemmed. And then 20% were kept whole clustered. Okay, that's what it means. The wine is then fermented and macerated, which sounds dirty, but it's not, for 30 days in vats. If you macerate for 30 days, bad things happen. So they leave vats, nonetheless. They leave the wine on the skins for a long time. So it's gonna extract a ton of flavor, a ton of tannins. They control the temperature during the period so the wine doesn't get kind of cooked in the fermentation process because fermentation creates heat. They do pump overs. Yeah. And then after that, they separate the juice from the solids and they age in concrete vats. And concrete is interesting because, like a wooden barrel, concrete can let in some oxygen, but unlike oak, it doesn't impart any flavors. Now, another tech sheet or technical explanation said that 80% is in concrete and 20% is in the large wooden foodras. So we're just gonna I Don't know which is which, it's fine. Okay, most of it is in concrete, most are all a quick note on the winery. They say they are on a very old family estate, and that there are so many generations of the family that have been making gigonas that they don't even know how many generations there have been. What? That's how far back. And it says the domain dates back to the 900s, not 1900s. Right, right.

Carmela: 22:22
Holy cow. Yeah.

Joe: 22:23
The second wine we're gonna drink.

Carmela: 22:24
It's a family business for sure.

Joe: 22:26
It's in the family. Okay, the second wine we're gonna drink is the 2023 Crew Saint Montan Gigondos l'Espalier. I'm not saying I I know I'm not saying these right, but I I feel if I give enough accent. Right, you're fooling everybody. Or at least myself. Right. Except for the people who are francophiles, and then they're like, dude, you suck.

Carmela: 22:46
You just slaughtered that.

Speaker 1: 22:48
Exactly.

Joe: 22:48
I'll get something. Somebody will send something. Which is fine. And that's okay. We like it. I like being correct. It's helpful.

Carmela: 22:54
It is. No, you don't like being corrected. No, I don't.

Joe: 22:57
Okay. There, you just I accepted that correction. Okay. Though this one got a ton of really good.

Carmela: 23:03
I mean, you don't mind when people that know what they're doing correct you, but typically you're the one who's right all the time.

Joe: 23:09
No, you hit on a really important thing. If the person has more knowledge than me, I'm fine.

Carmela: 23:13
You're like, fine about it. But no, typically you don't get corrected because you know I know everything. Well, at least pronunciation or grammar.

Joe: 23:20
Oh, yes.

Carmela: 23:21
I think life.

Joe: 23:22
Yes, yes. That's right. Okay, back to the wine. This wine got a ton of good reviews, including a 95 from Wine Enthusiast, 92 from Jeb Dunnock, a 91 from Vineyas, and a 91 from Sucky James Suckling. Well. It's again a blend of 80% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 10% Mouvedra. The text sheet says the wine was hand-harvested, which it has to be. And then they had a 30-day, another 30-day vat vinification with some cap punching, a little pumping over, which is like kind of not just sexy, but a little bit scary, and mostly aged in stainless steel.

Carmela: 23:55
Oh, wow. We're gonna like that, I think.

Joe: 23:57
But and then we're gonna see. Mm-hmm. And then a small portion, they don't say how much, in these large oak casks for 15 months. They also say the wine is unfined and unfiltered, so that's interesting. And another tech sheet I found said that the harvest starts with Syrah, followed by Grenache, and finishes with Mouvedre, which needs more time to mature. So I thought that was interesting because they're kind of giving us a little clue about the different grapes and how they mature and how they crush them and then blend them together. This wine is a collaboration between Harry Bausmans, who is evidently well known in Rhone, and Eric Bonnet of a winery called Domain Bastide Saint-Dominique, which is actually in Chateau Neuf-de-Pape, where his family has been growing grapes for three generations. Okay.

Carmela: 24:40
So they know how many do you have to do. They've been tracking.

Joe: 24:42
Yeah, they got it. Not so many that they can't keep track of. Right. Okay, but I think that's enough information, Carmella. I think it's time to taste these wines. So if you have a Gigondas or a Côte d'Arone or any French, whatever, just drink along with us and see if you agree with our tasting notes, and we'll be right back. Okay. Okay, we're back and we're ready to try our first wine. I'll say a couple of things really quick before we get into it. First is I did open these bottles before we started, which I think is a good thing because they need some air. So they've been airing out for about 25-30 minutes. I also did the 2020 rule. So I put them in the fridge for about 20 minutes before we started drinking them. So we'll see if that does anything. But that's a typical thing that we're we s we always say that you should do. The third thing is the bottles are really cool. So one of the things about Chateauneuf-de-Pop and Gigondas is that they have these like crests in the wine bottle themselves. So it's actually a really cool-looking bottle.

Carmela: 25:43
Yeah, yeah, it looks fancy.

Joe: 25:45
Yeah, like as a gift wine, this is a great wine, or if you're trying to impress people at a you know dinner party.

Carmela: 25:50
It looks expensive.

Joe: 25:52
It it totally does. It's elegant. Okay, this first wine we're gonna drink is the Notre Dame de Palier at Gigondas Le Mouray. It's from Rhone France. It's 2023 vintage, $28.97, Carmela. Sorry. At wine.com. 15% alcohol. That's the other thing about Gigondas, is that it's gonna be higher in alcohol, 80% Grenache, 10% each of Mouvedra and Syrah. And again, Jeb Dunnock gave it a 94. So Carmela. Let's talk about the color.

Carmela: 26:23
Well, I wouldn't say, I mean, it's dark, but I wouldn't say it's like super inky, you know, not as dark as I was expecting for some reason.

Joe: 26:29
It's almost translucent.

Carmela: 26:31
Yeah, it's kind of ruby, totally ruby. Um, it's pretty. What do you think?

Joe: 26:35
Yeah, no, I'm totally with you. It's a very pretty red. It's kind of it's kind of it's darker than a burgundy, but it's not as dark as like a cabernet. It's very pretty. Okay. Well, let's smell it and see what we think.

Carmela: 26:47
Well, I'm getting some matchstick on it. Um, but I'm also getting some maybe some black licorice or anise, you know, or fennel, something like that.

Joe: 26:58
Definitely spicy, definitely smoky. I think um, like plum. It's kind of plum. It's a little grapey, I would say. Yeah, it is. But yeah, it's got it's spicy, like the Syrah is probably giving it some spice.

Carmela: 27:12
Definitely.

Joe: 27:13
I want to say, like, almost, I don't know how to say this. It's like a rose, but it's almost like a really like an older rose.

Carmela: 27:20
Like almost like um dried of dried rose, like almost like a potpourri with rose, red rate, red rose, too.

Joe: 27:28
I feel like yeah, I like that. Maybe just a scosh of like there's some red fruit in there. I can't like it's like it's almost like a jam, like a raspberry jam, but like with cinnamon and spice in it.

Carmela: 27:41
Today I made a berry compote, and it actually has some hints of that, I would say.

Joe: 27:48
Okay, you know what it reminds me of a little bit? You know when you make the Linzer tort?

Carmela: 27:51
Oh yeah.

Joe: 27:52
And it's kind of got that spicy raspberry.

Carmela: 27:54
Yeah, and it does also have some um well has almond in it, like in the crust sometimes. Yeah. I don't always make it with almond, but um, I wonder.

Joe: 28:04
Do you think that adds to the like it must add to the flavor?

Carmela: 28:07
It totally does, yeah.

Joe: 28:09
Okay, well let's taste it and see what we think. It's um it's big, but it's not like overwhelming. It's flavorful.

Carmela: 28:16
It really is. And it is it um it's is kind of big from start to finish. Like it almost opens up in your mouth.

Joe: 28:26
Yes, I agree.

Carmela: 28:27
It's a little hot.

Joe: 28:29
It's hot. It's like talk about firm tannins. It's got really firm tannins. It's very, it's very plummy to me. Almost agree. Almost pruney.

Carmela: 28:39
Yeah, a little bit. Um, but you know, it's funny, it almost is a little more to me like like a red plum.

Joe: 28:46
Oh, yeah, but not like the darker ones. No, why do you think that?

Carmela: 28:50
I don't know, because there's something about the skin that I'm tasting in this wine, the skin of the plum.

Joe: 28:55
Okay, I like it's I mean, super tannic. So that's where the skin's coming from. I'm getting a little figginess in it, maybe.

Carmela: 29:02
Okay, you're getting some more like a rich, like dry, yes. Yeah, okay.

Joe: 29:06
Definitely dark.

Carmela: 29:07
So not like a fresh fig, more like fig jam or no.

Joe: 29:11
I could even say a fresh fig, too. Like it's got that sweet, but like there's something, there's something about the body. You know, like a fig has like for a fruit, like a fig's got a lot going on from a body perspective.

Carmela: 29:23
Yeah, no, definitely. Kind of fleshy.

Joe: 29:26
Yes, fleshy, fleshy.

Carmela: 29:28
A little bit of that. Fleshy fig. Yeah, you know, and and some, you know, some there are different. There's so many different varieties of figs, too.

Joe: 29:37
Black fig.

Carmela: 29:38
Right, right. And so, you know, like the red ones. I think this is more of a dark fig.

Joe: 29:41
Yeah, I agree. You know, it's funny. I mean, we'll rate it in a little bit, but it's a bigger wine than we would normally drink. But I mean, it I'm really liking it. This is a more this is like on the verge of punch you in the face, but it's it does have some some elegance, I feel, to it.

Carmela: 29:57
Because it doesn't have big oak on it.

Joe: 29:59
No, you're right.

Carmela: 30:00
So I think that changes it. You can taste the fruit a lot more.

Joe: 30:04
Yes, I totally agree with you. Okay, what food would you have with this wine?

Carmela: 30:08
Well, I have to say, when I was thinking about this, I you could have this, you could cut you could cocktail this.

Joe: 30:14
Totally for sure.

Carmela: 30:14
Like you could just have this, like I'm having a glass of wine at a wine bar, and this could be what you have. Um, but I think it would go really well. I mean, I think it's a meat wine. I think you could steak free. Yep, yep. I mean, I do like I'm thinking of um the other night we went out and our son had ribs. Oh, yeah. Really good rib, both pork and beef ribs.

Joe: 30:33
And I think it could be spicy or sweet, like I think you'd be fine. I think like a juicy cheeseburger or like a big Mac. Oh something saucy.

Carmela: 30:41
Yeah. Oh, that would be good.

Joe: 30:43
Like, I think this is a stew, but I also think this is kind of a saucy, like something with some sauce on it.

Carmela: 30:49
Yeah, well, even like I'm saying, I mean, this is you could even do like eggplant parmesan with it. Totally. That would be really good. And that's a meatless dish typically, or we make it that way.

Joe: 30:59
Yeah.

Carmela: 30:59
Stuffed flank, lasagna.

Joe: 31:02
Like this is a hearty, hearty food wine.

Carmela: 31:05
Yeah. I like it.

Joe: 31:06
I like it too. Well, let's rate it. As a reminder, on a rating scale, we rate on a scale of one to ten. We don't give half points. Seven and above means that we would buy it. Four and below means we're gonna pour it down the sink. Five or a six means we're gonna drink it and we're gonna finish it, but we're not gonna buy it. So, Carmela, I know this isn't your type of wine, and I guess I shouldn't bias the jury, but what rating are you gonna give this wine?

Carmela: 31:26
Well, I'm gonna give it a seven because I would buy it and not even just for the bottle, even as a gift wine. It's a pretty bottle.

Joe: 31:34
It's a great bottle.

Carmela: 31:35
It's a very elegant, like people would be like, whoa, but if we had certain people coming for dinner, I would happily buy this.

Joe: 31:42
Yeah. You know, so first of all, Carmella giving a bigger red wine a seven is a huge rating for her. Because you just don't like big red wines.

Carmela: 31:50
No, no, but this is definitely uh is has more qualities that I like that are not that are in a wine that I wouldn't drink that would be in a similar category.

Joe: 31:59
Yeah.

Carmela: 32:00
So that's why I I'm liking it. What about you? What are you giving it?

Joe: 32:04
I'm giving it an eight. I'm really tempted to give it a nine. You like it? It's a it's a very good wine. Like again, what's interesting to me is this isn't really our style, our jam. It's a little bit heavier than a wine that we would usually have, but it is a really nice wine. It's quite, you know, like again, like elegant. It's got a lot going on, but it doesn't feel like it's overdoing it. It feels, you know what? They talked about this, it feels balanced.

Carmela: 32:29
Yeah. It's approachable for somebody who, I mean, for like uh like a variety of people too.

Joe: 32:35
So I'm gonna hold on an eight, but I'm uh, as always, we reserve the right to change our ratings before the end of the podcast. Okay. Okay, we're gonna take a break and try our second wine. Okay, we're back and we're ready to try our second wine. Again, same beautiful bottle, very elegant. It's got that crest etched into it that says gigondos. I mean, again, great gift wine. Great, you know, if you're going to somebody's house for dinner, like this would be a great wine to bring. This is the Crew C-R-O-U-S Saint-Martin Gigondos L'Espalier. I'm not sure if I'm saying that right, but trust me. Uh, it's from Roan France. It's also 2023 vintage. This one was $29.97.

Speaker 1: 33:17
Oh boy, oh boy.

Joe: 33:18
Yep. Got it at wine.com. This one's a little less alcohol, 14.5%, but same blend. 80% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 10% Mouvedra. And again, this is the one that has a 95 from Wine Enthusiast, 92 from Jeb Dunnock, a 91 from James Sucky Suckling, and a 91 from Vinius. But Carmilla, let's talk about the color. Similar. Similar, but I wonder, and maybe it's because the the lighting has changed a little bit. It seems maybe a touch darker.

Carmela: 33:44
Yeah, yeah, I would agree. I think it's pretty. I'm still seeing those like red ruby highlights. It has it doesn't have I mean, it looks like it's a touch darker.

Joe: 33:54
It is, and it's not as tr it's not nearly as trans. I don't think it's translucent. Maybe it is a little bit. It's more on the verge of being purple, I think. Yeah, but with a ruby hue around the rim of it. Yeah. The edges.

Speaker 4: 34:06
Pretty.

Joe: 34:06
Yeah, it's very I mean, these wines are very pretty in the glass as well, I would also say. So these are these are great wines. Let's smell it.

Carmela: 34:13
Hmm. What are you getting?

Joe: 34:15
This one's a little more earthy, almost more herby on it.

Carmela: 34:18
Yeah, I'm getting maybe a touch of meat.

Joe: 34:20
Are you getting a little meatiness? Just a little. Fleshy. It smells like it smells like the flesh of a fruit. You know what I mean? I don't know how that's it.

Carmela: 34:28
I mean, again, it's kind of got that that figure.

Joe: 34:31
It kind of does.

Carmela: 34:32
Because the inside of a fig is a little like flushy.

Joe: 34:37
It's very fleshy.

Carmela: 34:38
Smelling even.

Joe: 34:39
Oh, yeah, you're right. No, there is. When you open it up, it crack open a fig. It does. There's something, it's just a different kind of experience. I'm getting like plum again and pruniness. Um, maybe black, like a deep, deep cherry, but it's spicy again. Like there's definitely spiciness on it. It's not totally dissimilar from the first one, but it's a little to me, maybe a little bit earthier, a little bit.

Carmela: 35:01
Yeah, I would think so.

Joe: 35:02
It's got some herb on it.

Carmela: 35:03
Like rather than spice, I think there's herb. I'm not getting the same like uh cinnamony baking spices. I think we were getting a little bit more of that on the first one.

Joe: 35:14
You know what? It actually is more like you know, Thanksgiving turkey uh herbs. Like poultry herbs.

Carmela: 35:22
Yeah, poultry herbs.

Joe: 35:23
That's kind of what I'm getting.

Carmela: 35:24
Yeah.

Joe: 35:25
I think the French sometimes call that grig, but it does almost have like you know, stuffing. You know, like stuffing has that, those herbs in it. It's kind of what it smells like to me.

Carmela: 35:34
When you take that and you bunch it up and tie a little uh knot on in it and stick it in your dish. Cavity.

Joe: 35:41
Ooh, cavity. Okay. Speaking of cavities, let's taste it. Okay. Okay. So I'm just gonna say, I was expecting more punch you in the face from the flavor, but it's actually lighter than I expected.

Carmela: 35:54
I think so. And I actually think it's quite it's there are some similarities for sure, which makes sense. But um, it's it still has a little bit of that heat and the taste is kind of big for a while. Um, but not punch you in the face.

Joe: 36:09
Uh to me, it's a it's a lighter, more elegant wine. These tannins are softer. So, like the the first one, the tannins were really grippy. This is a little more round, totally more round. Yeah, it's not as drying, it's not as like on the tongue as the first one. It's got great tannins, but I would say these are more like silky or velvety tannins than they are really grippy tannins. But similar taste, like a fig newton inside, you know, like uh it's got that spiciness with prune or fig or plum.

Carmela: 36:40
Or even like currant, a little bit of currant on it, or raisin even.

Joe: 36:46
You're right. There's uh actually a little bit of tartness on the very front of it as well. Even a red raspberry, like tartness, a little tartness on the front. Okay, what food would you pair with this Cru semanton?

Carmela: 36:58
Well, it's funny. Uh now that you were talking about Thanksgiving, uh, this would be a thing great Thanksgiving wine.

Joe: 37:03
I think so too.

Carmela: 37:04
And it'd be so nice on the table.

Joe: 37:06
It's lighter, it's a lighter wine than the first one to me. I'm not saying it doesn't have grip or depth. It's just not as I don't think it's as bold.

Carmela: 37:16
No, which is why I think you could do like a turkey with gravy, um like a Thanksgiving dinner with this. You know, one up is an option.

Joe: 37:25
For your birthday, Carmela's birthday was on Monday, the 13th, and we went to a place in Seattle called Musang. And Musang is like, how would you describe it?

Carmela: 37:33
Oh, it's Filipino food.

Joe: 37:34
It's Filipino, but it's like kind of like fancied up Filipino food. Right.

Carmela: 37:38
And there's some comfort food kind of around it, but you know, some of it feels more a little bit comfort food, but it's also there are dishes. Actually, it was quite a variety.

Joe: 37:47
Quite a variety. You had like a fish. I yeah, my main dish was like fried chicken in a gravy. That would go great with it.

Carmela: 37:55
Really nicely with this. Yeah. So I and again, the ribs would be good, and those were pork ribs, so I think they would be nice.

Joe: 38:02
I think this one even more with spicy, but what's interesting about both these wines is they're making me think of creaminess. Like creamy foods, like gravies and those kinds of things. They're really making me think of that.

Carmela: 38:13
You know what's so funny too? This is so off like from what we normally talk about, but like this would actually be really good with like a Linzer torque.

Joe: 38:22
Oh, you really a little dessert.

Carmela: 38:24
I think you can have a little dessert because that almond creaminess, you know, that comes from that almond flavor in that bready. I don't know. I just for some reason been like you could do certain desserts with this. Am I no, no, I love it.

Joe: 38:39
I think it's great. I don't know. I I love it. I don't I'm having trouble with these wines. Let's rate these wines. I'm having trouble, like they're both really nice wines.

Carmela: 38:47
You know, I'm kind of just being very like predictable tonight, but I'm gonna give this one a seven as well.

Joe: 38:53
Okay, this is what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna go back and give the first one a nine. I am gonna go back. And this one I'm gonna give an eight. Okay. I just think these are really like these are really nice wines. Yeah, they're a little bit more expensive than we usually would, you know, spend on wines for the podcast, but not for what we would spend. And in our normal lives, these would be like bargains.

Carmela: 39:13
Bargains.

Joe: 39:13
Like these are really nice wines. And so I would encourage everybody like try these wines. They are worth it. For sure. Which of these are you finishing tonight, Carmela?

Carmela: 39:24
It's that is tough. That is a tough one for me. Um, I don't know if I can make a decision right now. They're both so good, they're both really good. And uh, so I don't, I'm I'm gonna okay. I think I'll go with this first one.

Joe: 39:38
Okay, you we're both gonna go for the first one. Okay, but again, they're fantastic wines. Like you couldn't go wrong with either. Okay, let's talk about the taste profiles and see if we nailed them. Gigondas in general, ripe red and black fruit, strawberry, cherry, blackberry, black currant, and blueberry sometimes often have a distinct meaty, black licorice character. You got both of those. Garig. Oh, wow. Wild herbs of the region, thyme, lavender, white pepper. I was definitely getting that kind of thing. Don't you think? Yeah.

Carmela: 40:07
Yeah, really interesting.

Joe: 40:09
Typically with high alcohol, firm tannins, keen acidity, it does have acidity and saltiness, reminiscent of the seed. I like that.

Carmela: 40:16
I love it, which maybe is why I'm thinking about a dessert with that. Maybe. There's a little because the salt brings out the sweet and it could it could actually work.

Joe: 40:25
I think so too. The Notre Dame wine, the winery says its nose exhales an aromatic bouquet and great complexity. Notes of very ripe fruits, blackberry and cherry. Palette is perfectly balanced. I do think it's balanced, both concentrated and delicate, on jammy fruit and spices. The finish is long, extending on straight tannins. I like that description. They are straight tannins. Jeb Dunnock said both red and black fruits, peppery herbs, sappy flowers, and some gamey, truffly notes.

Carmela: 40:55
Oh, truffle, that's interesting. I could yeah, I can get behind that.

Joe: 40:58
Medium-bodied, I agree. Pure, elegant mouthfeel, ripe integrated tannins, great finish. So there you go. Amazing. Yeah, the Creus Saint Martin, the winery says dark and deep ruby color. I agree, it is a darker one. Intense notes of jammed fruits, black olives. Again, that saltiness. Yeah, and dark spice is dark, silky, elegant in the mouth. I agree. We were saying it was like more silky kind of tannins. One enthusiast said aromas of fresh roses.

Carmela: 41:28
Wow. Fresh. They were saying fresh. Yeah, we were thinking more dried.

Joe: 41:32
Carpentra strawberries, hmm, red licorice, flaky salt. Flaky salt is a good one.

Speaker 4: 41:37
Yeah.

Joe: 41:37
That's a good one. And crushed stone. The palette is liquid silk. Jeb Dunick, ruby purple hued, offers a beautiful perfume of sweet frambois. That's strawberry. Right. Red plums, pepper, flowery, greag-like. Yeah, flowery, gorigue-like notes, medium-bodied, pure elegance. And Viney said zesty blood orange. That's interesting. Ripe red fruits, pressed violets, dried herbs. We got the herbs for sure.

Carmela: 42:04
Yeah. We got a lot of it.

Joe: 42:05
What's your verdict on gigonas?

Carmela: 42:07
Oh, I'm I'm down with this for sure.

Joe: 42:11
Great gift wine. Yeah. Great fancy dinner wine. Right.

Carmela: 42:14
They would be awesome on the table. They would be beautiful on a table.

Joe: 42:17
I mean, it's, and it's not so expensive that you couldn't like, hey, it's Tuesday night. Let's have a nice wine. Yeah, sure.

Carmela: 42:22
But it's also a special occasion wine. If you don't want it splurged just, you know, any day of the week, save this for like a special dinner party.

Joe: 42:30
I agree. It's a great wine. Now it's time to head over to our news desk so that we can cover our wine in the news this week segment. Wine in the news this week. Our wine in the news this week comes from Wine Searcher, written by Barnaby Eels. I like that name. Links are in the show notes as always, and his article is entitled French Wine's New North Star. Oh. So we're trying to stay on themes, French. French wines. I love it. And when we tell you where the North Star of French wine is now, you might be surprised.

Carmela: 43:04
Okay. Give it to me.

Joe: 43:05
It's Brittany.

Carmela: 43:07
What?

Joe: 43:07
Exactly. Brittany. The rainy, windy, gray-skied western tip of France that most of us associated with seafood and cider and crepes and pretty much every French cliche.

Carmela: 43:19
You say crepes?

Joe: 43:20
Yes.

Carmela: 43:21
Not crepes.

Joe: 43:22
Crepes, actually. Okay. I just thought I'd be cool. I mean, wow.

Carmela: 43:26
I'd never heard you say creps in my whole life. Not that I've heard you say crepes very often.

Joe: 43:30
I don't really. We don't have crepes a lot. Or creping. Anyway, it usually has nothing to do with wine. Brittany is usually not associated with wine. Yes, no, it is associated with crepes. But it's quietly turning into a real, actual, serious wine region, Carmela. Nice. Until about 10 years ago, it was literally illegal to grow wine commercially in Brittany. Illegal. They would arrest you. Why? I don't know why. I'm puzzled. French Appalachian law actually banned it. What? They banned it. And it was only In 2016, thanks to an EU directive, that France finally lifted its own prohibition. And in the decade since, about 50 new winemakers have set up shop, planted vines, and started making wine that people are actually paying money for.

Speaker 1: 44:14
Amazing.

Joe: 44:14
The biggest of them is a guy named Laurent House, whose family used to make its living the traditional Breton way. His grandparents were cod fishermen, and he grew up in his family's crepery or crepery.

Carmela: 44:28
What do you say? I don't know. Crepery or crepery?

Joe: 44:31
I don't know. But anyway, today he owns 15 hectares. That's it looks like hectacres, but it's hectares of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Oh wow. Yeah. His estate is called Domain des Terra Nuevas, which means the domain of the new lands. That's kind of cool. Three former champagne winemakers have quit Champagne and moved there. So what's going on, Carmela? What's going on?

Carmela: 44:53
It's a very good question, Joe.

Joe: 44:54
Climate change. Climate change.

Carmela: 44:56
Wait, but is climate change real?

Joe: 44:58
Oh boy. Okay, Brittany has always been way too cold and too wet for grapes to ripen properly, but temperatures have been slowly climbing. The region now is a real shift between warm days and cool nights, and the maritime climate keeps the acidity intact, even when the sugars are getting higher. And this is what I'll say in a few weeks. I don't know how long it's gonna be. We're gonna do some English bubbly.

Carmela: 45:24
Ooh.

Joe: 45:24
Because the I'll make sure to be here. Yeah. Thank you. The same thing was said about England. You can't grow wine, grapes in England, can't make wine. Well, guess what? It's happening. Okay. Retail prices in Brittany run between 12 and 35 euros, so most are under 25 euros, so they're reasonably priced. They're being sold to locals and at the winery and through independent wine shops. So you're probably not gonna get them in the U.S. for a while, but they are very much being built as anti-snob wine. I love that. I love it too. So, Carmela, here's a question. I don't know what the question is. What do you think about this whole climate change, Brittany wines, Breton? What do you think? Are you in or out? And do you call them crepes or crepes?

Carmela: 46:03
I'm a crepe girl. I call them crepes, and um, I don't really know what to make of it. What do you think?

Joe: 46:10
I love it. I want to try it.

Carmela: 46:12
Crepes?

Joe: 46:12
Yes. That's no, that's not a bunch of crep. I want to try some crepes.

Carmela: 46:16
Okay, okay. But you want to try it. You're down with this.

Joe: 46:19
I'm down. I'm totally down. Okay. Okay, we're gonna move on to listener shout-outs, and I'll just say here's the deal. We're doing this episode, we're recording this a little bit earlier in the week than we usually do. And so we don't have quite as many shout-outs as we normally would have. And I'm hoping I didn't miss anybody, but I just got one really one right now from Bradley. Bradley, he said he found our podcast, and they've been going through the what the F episodes to learn more about varietals. Nice. So they're really loving them, and they are currently listening to Carmen Air. And his wife, he and his wife on their honeymoon, they went to the Casas del Bosque Vineyard in Chile. Cool. So that's super cool. The other thing we'll just shout out is that Carmela and I went, we love, there's a local comedian. We don't know him, local comedian named Scott Lossy. If you ever follow him on Instagram, he's really funny.

Carmela: 47:09
We think we know him. We like, you know, it's one of those like um, what do you call those?

Joe: 47:13
Yeah, I don't know what it's called, but explain what it is because this totally makes sense.

Carmela: 47:16
Well, it's basically like, I don't know, somebody's gonna know this right away, but you just you you don't know them, but you feel like you know them because you spend time with them every day. Yeah. And that's how I feel about a couple people. Yeah, and um this no, this guy is one of those people who like when I see him, I just want to be like, hey, like I know the guy, but he'd be like, Who are you?

Joe: 47:38
Well, this was the exciting part. So his name's Scott Lossie. We went to see a show, we took a picture, I put a picture up on our stories, and he liked he sent us a note. He's like, Thanks for coming out to the show. So cool. We were so excited. Carmela loves this guy.

Carmela: 47:50
I think he's funny.

Joe: 47:51
I think he's really, really funny.

Carmela: 47:52
He's a Pacific Northwest guy.

Joe: 47:54
Yeah. So if you want to know about the Pacific Northwest and all the cliches, and it's all real and it's all there. Okay, here's some wines coming up in future episodes in case you want to drink along with us. We're gonna do Vermentino, we're gonna do Chateau Neuf de Pop, including including the 2024 Costco Kirkland version. By the way, you can go to our show notes if you want to find the exact wines and get links. We're gonna do Gamay from Beaujolais. We've done Beaujolais before, but it's not for a while. And we're gonna specifically focus on Beaujolais Morgone. We're gonna do an episode on decoy wines. We haven't done a uh like a grocery store wine in a while. And decoy, we really like their sparkling, so we're gonna see if we like their other wines. We're gonna do an episode on Alianico Rosé.

Speaker 1: 48:34
Ooh.

Joe: 48:35
Sick.

Speaker 1: 48:35
Nice.

Joe: 48:36
Schiava, which is a light red wine from Italy, Loire Cremont. We love Cremont. So we're gonna do one specifically from Loire and British Bubbly. Perf. But with that, we're gonna go. So thank you for listening to us and supporting our show. And remember, we buy all of our own wine and we do all the writing and recording and editing to bring you a show every week because we love to do it. And our little small favor and ask for you is that you please follow or subscribe to our podcast and leave us a nice rating and review to help us grow listeners. And thank you so much to all of you who take the time to do that. You can follow us on Instagram at Blue Sky and TikTok at the WinePair Podcast. Contact us on our website, thewinepairpodcast.com, sign up for our email newsletter there. Visit our shop wine section where you can find links to buy the wines that we rate as buys in each episode. And we we want to make content that you care about and you like, so send us a note or DM us, give us some feedback, let us know if there's wines you want us to try or winemaking areas of the world that you're curious about, we'll take care of it. Reach out at Joe at the WinePair Podcast.com. But with that, we're gonna sign up. So thanks again, and we'll see you next time. And as we like to say, life is short. So stop drinking shitty wine.