Domaine Santa Duc : Les Hautes Garrigues 2020

A beautifully crafted version, with both a bright, high-toned profile and a dense core of flavor and power. Offers melted red licorice, raspberry puree and warm baking spice upheld by chalky mineral, smoked sandalwood and salty, fresh acidity. Seamlessly integrated and elegant, this is just beginning to see its potential. Grenache and Mourvèdre. Drink now through 2030. 888 cases made, 100 cases imported.

Strong Mourvèdre profile here, with heavy aromas like a dense fug. Soft, gently unctuous fruit including blackberry and black cherry. Fresh with bold, muscular tannins and a long finish. This wine is well balanced this year, definitely one to buy. Planted at the foot of the Cône around their house.

Black fruit coulis, intense spice aromas and some smoke on the nose. Powerful and robust in the best possible way, the tannins are remarkably polished for a Rhone red with stacks of mourvedre in it. Very compact core, but also excellent energy on the full-bodied palate. Bold and very structured, but there's a wonderfully delicate sweetness, too. A cuvee of 50% mourvedre and 50% grenache from old vines on the high plain of Gigondas. 75% whole bunch. Matured in a combination of Stockinger oak foudre and clay amphora. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Drink or hold.

Lastly, and a big step up, the 2020 Gigondas Les Hautes Garrigues is equal parts Grenache and Mourvèdre that was raised in foudres and amphorae. It doesn't have the sheer power or concentration of previous great vintages, but I love its balance, purity, and finesse. Red and black fruits, spicy garrigue, and floral notes make for a classic Gigondas that's medium to full-bodied, has ultra-fine tannins, and a great finish. It's a gorgeous Gigondas any way you look at it. Give bottles 4-5 years and enjoy over the following 15+.