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Domaine Saint-Damien Gigondas Cuvee La Louisiane VV 2018 - First Bottle

Reviews

95-97 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate - Read

The 2018 Gigondas La Louisiane looks to be another terrific example of this cuv?e. Raspberries, black cherries, tea leaves and violets all appear on the nose, while the full-bodied palate is rich, velvety and long on the finish. (JC)

93-95 Vinous - Read

Vivid magenta. Highly perfumed raspberry and cherry preserve aromas are complicated by potpourri and exotic spice nuances and a smoky mineral note builds in the glass. Juicy and appealingly sweet, displaying intense red/blue fruit, spicecake and lavender pastille flavors and supple, seamless texture. Balances richness and vivacity smoothly and finishes extremely long and spicy, with harmonious tannins and a resonating echo of candied flowers.

92-94 Jeb Dunnuck - Read

A bigger, richer wine, the 2018 Gigondas La Louisiane offers medium to full-bodied richness as well as lots of red and black fruits (wild strawberries, raspberries), ground pepper, and violets. A blend of 80% Grenache, 15% Mourvèdre, and the balance Syrah and Cinsault, aging in foudre, it has a great mid-palate, ripe tannins, and outstanding length. Due to the mildew, no cuvee Les Souteyrades was produced.

Technical Details

Blend80% Grenache, 15% Mourvedre, and balanced with 5% Syrah and 5% Cinsault
WinemakerJoel Saurel
CountryFrance
RegionRhone Valley
AppellationGigondas
VineyardLa Louisiane
Farming MethodCertified Organic (since 2012)
Aging/Cooperage12 months in oak barrels
Alcohol15%

Domaine Saint-Damien Gigondas Cuvee La Louisiane VV 2018

Rhone Blends | France

WA95-97, VN93-95, JD92-94

$40.00 $35.95 | 750mL

SOLD OUT

10% off retail!

Too late, we are SOLD OUT!

We sold out of the last two vintages in truly RECORD time, and this is likely the best yet. A few words from the pros to give you a sense of the brilliance here: “full-bodied palate is rich, velvety and long"..."intense red/blue fruit, spicecake and lavender pastille flavors"..."supple, seamless texture”... And, TRUST YOUR NAPA VALLEY MERCHANT, the ‘18 is a wine of glorious power and finesse. Amazing!

Read the full reviews below if you'd like, but you should definitely jump on this one quick! This minerally, intense, wildly complex old-vine Gigondas from the Saurel family (farming these vineyards since 1821!) will shake you to your core -- all for $36. The soils in La Louisiane are terraced hillsides of extremely poor and rocky alluvial stones with red stone fragments. The Grenache was planted back in 1942, the Cinsault in 1951 and the Mourvedre in 1977 and they have been certified organic since 2012. It’s really quite astounding, and in an excellent vintage like 2018, a HUGE no-brainer if you love gutsy, powerful, layered Grenache (15% Mourvedre and a splash of Syrah and Cinsault)!

We direct-imported about 15 cases, so this is truly first come, first served..!

PAIRING IDEAS: Get some lamb tenderloin, coat it with EVOO and a bunch of herbs from the garden (thyme, rosemary etc). Sear it, slice it, and put on grilled/toasted naan bread (or pita), with some tzatziki (just plain yogurt and garlic, lemon, cucumber) and a bunch of crunchy lettuce. So good!

MUSIC SUGGESTIONS: This puts us in a groove -- check out “Come Together (Farley Mix)” by Primal Scream. Now that’s some lovin’ vibes!

About the Producer

Four generations of winegrowers have worked family vineyards since 1821. Owing much of its expansion to Clovis SAUREL, the vineyard was renamed Saint Damien in 1979, reminding us that an old chapel used to stand near the wine cellars, today long vanished. Joel SAUREL is the youngest of 7 children in a great family of winegrowers : he was raised amongst the scents of soil and an ancestral know-how that combines both tradition and new farming technologies. Saurel is deeply attached to the land, believing that soil is the only true master of a wine, and has thus followed the principles of Integrated Farming production since 1996. The soil is kept alive through careful ploughing and organic fertilizers; everything is sought to bring forth the natural qualities of the soil. In our fifty-year-old vineyard, yields are voluntarily limited. Furthermore, several years after conducting experiments, we have organized parcels according to soil type.