89-92 Parker Punkte für 2013
Jeb Dunnuck Dez. 2015
Still not yet bottled, the 2012 Gigondas showed considerably better this go around and I’m confident it will end up being an outstanding wine. Made from 75% Grenache and 25% Mourvèdre, it offers impressive ripeness in its smoked herbs, garrigue, olive and pepper-laced Grenache fruit. Medium to full-bodied, nicely concentrated and even sexy, it will drink nicely on release and evolve gracefully over the following decade or more.
One of the highlight tastings during my two weeks spent working in the northern Rhône was with Philippe and Marcel Guigal, who in this critic’s opinion, consistently fashion some of the greatest wines in the world. Looking at the 2011 Côte Rôties, which were bottled earlier this year, these are gorgeous wines that show the perfumed, sexy nature of the vintage; yet, they have more density, concentration and depth than just about every other wine from the vintage. Marcel characterized the vintage as charming and elegant, and while they’re insanely good even today, they’ll evolve gracefully and have broad drink windows. The 2012s should be bottled next year and this is another terrific vintage at this estate, which shouldn’t be a shock to anyone who follows the estate. The wines are already expressive, yet have more fat and texture than the 2011s, although maybe not the same level of focus or length. I suspect this is another vintage that will show nicely on release next year and age gracefully, with broad drink windows. The 2013s, in contrast, are inky, masculine, structured and not very much fun to taste at the moment. The extended elevage will help, but these will certainly be longer term prospects that will demand cellaring.
