Coming from a tiny 1.5-hectare portion of clay and limestone soils and all old vine Grenache, the 2018 Gigondas La Colline is another gorgeous wine from this estate that strikes a balance between richness and elegance. More ruby-hued (these wines are never the deepest hued in Gigondas) and with a killer perfume of kirsch liqueur, framboise, herbes de Provence, chocolate, roasted herbs, and chalky minerality, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, ultra-fine tannins, no hard edges, and a gorgeous, heady finish. This cuvée is almost always the more powerful and concentrated in the lineup, yet in 2018 it shows the more elegant, seamless style of the vintage beautifully. It’s going to benefit from a year or two of bottle age and drink fabulously well for a decade.

Dark, glistening ruby. A highly complex bouquet evokes ripe red fruits, candied flowers, exotic spices and cola. A smoky mineral quality builds in the glass. Alluringly sweet and focused on the palate, offering intense raspberry, cherry, lavender pastille and allspice flavors that deepen steadily through the back half. Supple, fine-grained tannins lend gentle grip to a strikingly long, focused finish that leaves sappy red fruit and spicecake notes behind.

Alluring, with a dark core of black currant, fig and blackberry fruit that has melded nicely with warm tar, anise and singed apple wood notes. Buried iron on the finish gives this cut and drive while the fruit plays out. Best from 2020 through 2030. 25 cases imported.

The full-bodied 2017 Gigondas La Colline is evolving beautifully, retaining those exotic licorice and blood orange notes observed last year and fleshing them out with blackberry and purple raspberry fruit. All Grenache, it's perfumed and floral, boasts a lush, creamy-velvety mouthfeel and finishes with tremendous length. Tasted twice, with consistent notes.