Latest update : 17 December 2019.
May 2016 by John Livingstone-Learmonth
Enjoyement levels in the ‘14s are high. The cool summer, with pockets of rain, ensured that most wines are fresh, have moderate alcohol, and are what the French call digeste – easy to drink. Accurate expressions of terroir are always well propted in such circumstances, in contrast du the heavily sunny vintages, which spend years shaking off their thick, ripe coating from the summer climate.
Domaine Santa Duc, Gigondas Clos Derrière Vieille
Inky, really (...)
Extract from “La Vigne” - N°280 - November 2015
To expand its range of wines, Pierre Cros imported grape varieties from Italy and Portugal (Nebbiolo and Touriga nacional). He also rehabilitated traditional Mediterranean varieties long decried. [...]
“When I wanted to plant them in 1998, these two varieties were not yet enrolled in the French catalogue. I had to spar me for authorization in an experimental setting,”says the former rugby player who does not let adversity stop by. Pierre Cros (...)
Extract from the CHICAGO WINE JOURNAL: Submitted by Lawrence B. Johnson on Jan 15, 2016
To glimpse the poor, stony soil is to wonder how it could ever produce the grapes that Domaine Santa Duc in turn translates into some of the most seductive wine in the Southern Rhône Valley appellation of Gigondas. But the proof was there in a palate-pleasing, indeed eye-opening vertical sampler of Santa Duc’s single-vineyard, old-vine Gigondas Prestige des Hautes Garrigues.
Santa Duc GigondasDomaine (...)
The always-colourful wines, made of ideally ripe, selected grapes, have attained an infrequent level of quality and regularity. Tannins are of seductive velvetiness, and ageing of the wines is done with skills and mastery.
The Cahors 2012 has stared a nice, classic evolution, always conducted by fine tannins. Accurate extraction for the Cèdre 2012, concentrated and long, with smooth tannins. Marked with black fruit and chocolate flavours, GC 2012 asks some years of his ageing to ripen and (...)
Pierre Cros settled on 25 ha of vineyards and as much olives, almond trees and truffle oaks. He is a great “winzer-artist”, a real benchmark in the Minervois, if you look look up how often we wrote about him and his wines in this guide during the last 10 years. He considers himself as a “peasant” and tells us that he learned to respect his clients from his father and grand-father, who both of them had been bakers in Badens. Besides classic grape varieties of the AOC, Pierre Cros keeps ancient, (...)
continueThe family estate, winegrowers for 10 generations, is located in the heart of the Côtes des Blancs. First champagne under their own label in 1902, today’s brand was created in 1931 by Paul Lebrun. His grandchildren, Nathalie and Jean Vignier are farming 16.5 hectares of Chardonnay in Cramant and Sézanne. (RM).
After having got some air, this Champagne, bottled as an Extra-Brut shows elegant floral aromas, grapefruit and pineapple. The freshness of the flavors show up again on the palate, (...)
"We are not labeled for biodynamic farming, but we apply it in our vineyards. We never claimed the status of being entirely biodynamic, because it’s more comfortable to practice in small areas. However, we try to get as close to it as possible. Fifteen years ago, people looked at the proponents of biodynamics like they were lunatics. They even seemed to be a little sectarian. But then, step by step things evolved and we realized that there are a lot of things that work relatively well, (...)
continueYves Gras relies on the simple values that have allowed the winegrowers of this place to preserve the soul of their vineyards: Respecting the environment and the principles of the AOC, cultivating the soils in a traditional way, respectfully handling the plants and treating his grapes with care.
Passionate, totally absorbed by his task, this man engages his entire heart in order to distill the essentials from his wines: the pleasure of taste. For us, it was love at first sight when we (...)
Visual aspect: Pale yellow, golden color with silvery tinges. Nice brilliance and fine, persisting bubbles.
Nose: Seducing and pleasant. Fragrances of fresh butter and nice minerality.
Palate: Full-bodied and fresh. Very judicious « dosage », excellent balance, white fruits and minerality.
Match with food: Salt-crusted poultry with parsley butter and steamed vegetables of the season.
Comments: Flattering and promising Champagne. Benefits from (...)
A fifth-generation family estate. Intensely herbal and floral nose: a pot pourri of dried flowers and lavender. Full, sweet berry fruits and very fat in texture. Long, juicy, round, silky – all totally unified. A joy to drink.
18pts/20 (93/100pts) - Drink 2015-2020