Domaine Saint-Damien Gigondas Vieilles Vignes 2019

Domaine Saint-Damien is run by Joel and Amie Saurel and their son Romain who has now taken charge of the winemaking. The Saurel family had been tending vineyards for four generations, dating back to 1821, and until recently had been selling all of the grapes to negociants. In 1996 Joel resumed producing wine at the estate and in 1998 they brought on consulting winemaker Philippe Cambie. Vinification is classic with wines being fermented in large old cement tanks and aged in either cement tanks or large old foudres for the Gigondas. Domaine Saint-Damien Gigondas Vieilles Vignes 2019 vintage is 80% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre fermented on skins for 5 weeks before ageing in large 50 hl old foudres for 12 months before bottling unfined and unfiltered. Moving to the 2019s, this is a great vintage for this estate, and all of the wines showed brilliantly. The 2019 Gigondas Vieilles Vignes is its usual 80/20 split of Grenache and Mourvèdre and has awesome dark fruits, ground pepper, licorice, truffle, and earthy mineral-like aromas and flavors. I love its mid-palate, it has elegance as well as power, ripe tannins, and a great finish. I finished my note with “Wow.” – Jeb Dunnuck, January 2022, 96 points The Finer Details Style – Red Wine Varietal – Grenache, Mourvèdre Country – France Region – Southern Rhone Vintage – 2019 Bottle Size – 750ml ABV – 15%