2017 Gigondas La Colline
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Tasting notes
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.
Critic scores
Average Score
Richard Hemming MW, jancisrobinson.com
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
The 2017 Gigondas La Colline comes from a single parcel and is basically all Grenache that was 80% destemmed and brought up in demi-muids. It's an incredibly sexy, opulent wine overflowing with notes of kirsch liqueur, wild strawberries, raspberries, incense, and spring flowers. With full-bodied richness, present yet ultra-fine tannins, a voluptuous texture, and just an all-around layered, seamless, hedonistic yet flawlessly balanced style, it's going to benefit from short-term cellaring and keep for 10-15 years. It's a magical wine from this terrific winemaker.
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.
Cask sample. Tasted blind. Very juicy and candied fruit with fake oak spice alongside. Very modern and sweet. Lacks the authenticity and savoury style of most Gigondas. (RH)