Domaine Santa Duc, Gigondas, Les Hautes Garrigues

Good colour, mid depth. For my nose, this is so so suttle in fact very very difficult for me to pick up much at all, just the slightest hint of fresh raspberry and a little herb. The palate is so very dry with fine grained tannins and for me anyway desperately needs food, mid weighted. With time in the glass and also accompanied with dinner the raspberry really begins to stand out But I have to say I was expecting …

2016 vintage

Strongly marked by the 80% Grenache, with some extra punch from the 10% Mourvèdre and 10% Syrah. It has a not unusual medium color with a slight tawny hue, and a very Burgundian feel with its red fruits (raspberries, strawberries and red currants), plenty of fresh acidity, unobtrusive, soft tannins and lingering finish. Only the high 14,5% alcohol betrays its Southern origin. Drink it fresh and now, because it seems to me slightly over its prime and can only go …

2016 vintage

perfectly ripe mixed berry, perfectly balanced; bright enough to be a good food wine; really good and in a great place right now

2015 vintage

Lovely and surprisingly elegant Gigondas. Great freshness, acidity and purity of fruit. Grenache-driven with rasperries and cherries and a herbal note, very juicy and feels light and elegant in a good - almost Burgundian - way, silky tannins and a fine texture. This will hold but can perfectly be enjoyed now. Natural cork. - 92 points

2016 vintage

With its 80% Grenache (and 10% each of Syrah and Mourvèdre) this grape seems to dominate the wine, but this bottle is marked by a sharp acidity and a lack of ripe, generous fruit, which is at odds with my previous notes. This could be a flawed bottle, or it might be over its prime? I still have a couple left in my cellar: time will tell where this wine is heading

2016 vintage

Opens with a slightly burnt note then freshens up with snappy berry and plum with ample garrigue. Nicely balanced between fruit, acid and spice.

2015 vintage

Pop and pour, drank half the bottle over 2 hours. While its certainly not a small wine, its more balanced than a typical Southern Rhone. Berries, slight anise, lots of earth, forest floor.

2016 vintage

Great with grilled steaks. Decanted 2 hrs which helped. Had me wishing I'd been buying and storing more recent vintages.

2015 vintage

This is one of the leading estates in the appellation. This wine comes from high-altitude plots behind the old town an is dominated by the lushness of the Grenache (80%) with its typical nutty aromas, complemented by the forceful tannins and acids of the Syrah and Mourvèdre (each 10%)and with a long mouth-filling finish. Ready to drink.

2016 vintage

Decent but now lacking interest after the fruit has softened

2016 vintage

Another impressive bottle, fresh and alive with ripe but mature raspberry fruit. Quite gorgeous and years of life ahead if you can keep your hands off it. 5-12-17- 9: 93/100.

2016 vintage

PnP Boysenberry and lavender dominate nose. Lots of red fruit and pepper on the palate. Persistent, rustic tannins that complement the wine.

2016 vintage

Even better this time. Open in the bottle for about 3 hours and ready to go. All about balance and finesse on top of the earthy notes that makes this wine so enjoyable to me! It’s in a good place right now but should continue to be a pleasure for many years.

2015 vintage

Very pure, playful with a very fresh note rhubarb, good acidity and some feminine Grenache-sweetness. Very much the modern Santa Duc style, and some Good Ole boys might mis a bit the solid local feel; this is leaning more towards Burgundy. #I'llbehomeforX-mas

2016 vintage

This is. Great Gigondas. At the age of 9 years, it’s a great wine. It boasts of everything you would dream of in a Gigondas. Garrigue, liquorice, cococa, damson, black peppar and much more!

2015 vintage

Beautiful wine. A bit awkward after a pnp but really came together on day 2! Rich dark fruit with a citrusy lift on the palate. Layers of peppery spice emerge on the long finish. I think drinking now with a decant makes sense but no hurry. Another fine offering from Santa Duc!

2015 vintage

65 Grenache, 35 Mourvèdre One of the more interesting wines tasted in quite a while. Love the saline minerality and sapidity but, lacks identifiable ripe fruit with a pippy finish. Nose Old school, lift, alcohol 15%, black peppercorns, animal sweat, dried twigs, Briny green olive and neutral foudre wood. 35% Mourvedre dominates palate, medium Plus acidity that’s not over bearing or sharp, lite on its feet with good concentration, comes across very tertiary, minerality, raw tobacco, Uber Brown Leather, screaming …

2016 vintage

Wine from a small vineyard (approx.3ha) located behind the old town on terraces at an altitude of 350m and planted with 80%Grenache, 10% Syrah and 10% Mourvèdre, fermented in stainless steel and aged in large fouders and clay amphorae. This is one of the most unusual Gigondas I drank so far, completely at odds with the stereotypical image of a forceful macho-wine. It is completely in finesse and strongly dominated by the Grenache with a fairly light color with some …

2016 vintage

Really a well balanced wine with good fruit and nice finish

2016 vintage

Dark red with slight violet hue. Very elegant on the nose - arctic blueberry, garrique, touch of pine/juniper wood, oak and leather with oriental spice and wet autumn leaves. Silky mouthfeel with undeniable power but gentle and refined. VERY nice and it will be interesting to see what some more time/air might bring. Coravin sample - Glass: Riedel Veloce Syrah

2016 vintage

Third time enjoying this wine at Blackberry Farm during the last two years. It's proof positive that exceptional Gigondas can peak past 20 years. Simply put, this is the best Gigondas we've ever had, and we drink a LOT of Gigondas, since it's my wife's favorite appellation. I'd rate the first taste even higher, a 98, for its wild bramble, garrigue, and Provence herb flavor notes. Great length and complexity. It probably had an hour or more decant before our …

2001 vintage

4th Saturday Brown Bagger (EBCC) : Double blind. Light color. Opens with an earthy overtone with dark fruit and leather underneath. Flavors of ripe dark fruit and spiced plum. Develops a nice herbaceous quality as it sits in the glass. (J&S)

2015 vintage

I haven’t had a Grenache dominant wine in a while, and I haven’t had one as good as this since I was last in the town of Chateauneuf, back in 2017. This is very floral & red fruit dominant. More notes to follow, but delicious on opening.

2013 vintage

Grenache 50%, Mourvèdre 50% from a 2.8 ha parcel within the historic (since 1852) lieu-dit Les Hautes Garrigues on the plateau of Gigondas with red clay-rich sand loaded with limestone pebbles. Vines of average age 75 yrs under certified organic and biodynamic viticulture. Manual harvest in boxes, sorted in field and then on sorting table. Partial de-stemming (according to vintage and parcel). Gravity flow. 20-30 day fermentation by indigenous yeast in temperature controlled stainless steel vats. Twice daily pump over. …

2015 vintage

Opened 3 hours ahead of time. Deep ruby. Dark fruit and ground coffee aromas. Medium to full bodied. Ripe but not overly sweet dark fruit, pomegranate, orange zest, bark, and a chocolatey finish with round, furry tannins that fan out. Complex, serious, and still quite young.

2015 vintage

light color, muted aroma but also tart cherries

2016 vintage

Decanted 2 hours, opened up nicely. Paired well with short ribs.

2015 vintage

Ruby. Delicious, deep, ripe dark red fruit, spice, and enlivened by citrus. Round tannins, outstanding length. Not too sweet or soupy. Sure this is young, but the balance is there to enable early accessibility. An extroverted wine that should provide pleasure throughout its life span.

2015 vintage

Fine, feminine, elegant. Great now

2016 vintage

Deep, dark color. Licorice and red fruit. Full bodied but kept lively by its acidity. Excellent synthesis of chewy, more savory flavors and massive dark red fruit.

2015 vintage

Lovely Gigondas with great freshness, acidity and purity of fruit. Lots of rasperry and some cherries, hint of licorice, super elegant tannins and a fine texture that is almost Burgundian. Have not tasted such an elegant Gigondas in years. This will hold well but can perfectly be enjoyed now. - 92 points

2016 vintage

Back again for another bottle at Blackberry Farm, and I'll reiterate that this is the best aged Gigondas I've ever enjoyed. Glorious secondary forest flavors complement still-vibrant fruit. If I only knew what Gigondas to buy now that would taste like this when I'm even older....

2001 vintage

This supposedly simple wine was very nice. Lots of fruit and a long finish. Nice and rich.

2015 vintage

This particular bottle was the best aged (i.e., 10+ years old) Gigondas I've ever enjoyed. Mrs. Montesquieu's favorite wine is Gigondas, and we drink dozens of bottles per year, including aged. Most are tiring by age 10 and clearly declined by age 15. This Santa Duc, at 21, was vibrant, fresh, and perfectly enhanced by its cellar time. Bramble, garrigue, modest forest floor and mushroom, and a bit of smoke all complement fruit that was still energetic. Based on a …

2001 vintage

Hard to find any fault here. Also hard to add much to prior reviews. A touch of violets on the nose. Deep and inky, lots of fruit but not overripe. Lush velvety body with acidity still holding it upright. Plenty of garrigue as you would expect from the name. Thumbs up.

2015 vintage

Same as before Just excellent Raspberry plays first chair

2016 vintage

I didn't get a chance to decant this - it was a back up wine at a tasting - but this was firing on all cylinders from the get-go. The excellent nose was quite gamy, with red fruits and garrigue. The medium to full bodied palate was concentrated, well balanced and provided a complex mix of red fruits (cherries and plums mainly) along with some game, olive and garrigue. It had a smooth, velvety texture, but also still with ripe …

2001 vintage

Decantered 2ish hours. Blackberry, olive and spice. Nice wine. Possibly has more to come. 92-94pts

2016 vintage

60 minute decant. Nose is relatively faint, with red cherries and earth aromas. Black cherry, caramel, plum, and a hint of sassafras on the palate. A streak of bramble lead the finish of grippy tannins, dry dark cherry fruit, and old oak. The finish seems like it could unwind but it's nice now. Critics seem to find this more powerful than we did at this tasting.

2016 vintage

Better on day two, when the wine had settled down. Good, if not spectacular. Probably needs a longer decant or a couple more years rest. 90-92

2016 vintage

Popped and poured. An excellent Gigondas. Dark magenta-purple. Rich, full raspberry nose. But it is in the mouth where the true glories of this wine lie. Full, ripe, rich, voluptuous, fruit-filled, just gorgeous and unctuous, but also well-structured with stiff but chewable tannin. Easily one of the best Gigondas wines I have ever drunk, and it has not even peaked yet. Another example of Gigondas that I prefer to its more celebrated neighbors in CdP. 5-12-18-9: 94/100.

2016 vintage

Decanted for 3 hours and shows a tremendous noise of violets, Garrigue, anise, seared meat, and herbs. Similar notes on the palate with savory berries and purple flowers. What really strikes me is the fresh acidity. Wouldn't have expected that but it keeps this spicy best in check and fresh.

2016 vintage

Garnet with orange rim and even a very slight amber hue. This bottle was stored under textbook conditions since release. From the start a lovely nose of dark fruits, raspberries, game, herbs, earthy notes. The tannins are still here of course and still a bit drying. During 5 hours from the opened bottle, there is nothing falling apart or so. So there are some years to go for perfect cellared examples, I guess. But there is nothing to gain, but …

1995 vintage

3 hours of air in the glass. Ruby-violet color. The nose is reserved with notes of stone and garrigue. It gives a dry feeling on the nose, with a little heat. In the background there are blackberry and white floral elements. The palate is full-bodied with stone, muted black fruit, desiccated garrigue, some heat. Tannins are very fine-grained and give a moderate mouth coating. Medium acidity. This is a very nice wine. The alcohol plays some role but isn't overpowering. …

2016 vintage

Opened for 2 hours Color: deep ruby, clear edge Nose: licorice, wet stone, rose, unripened apple Palate: medium plus body, muted plum, licorice, wet stone, black pepper, floral notes, tar, earthy, slightly bitter finish moderate acidity, chalky tannins coat the mouth fully. This wine has great complexity and needs a few more years to develop and soften--excited to see where it goes! 92+

2016 vintage

Decanted 2 hours earlier. Clear, deep purple center with gentle gradation. Penetrating, complex aromas of ripe, dark red fruit, lavender, and tobacco leaf. Medium to full bodied, mouth coating feel without being heavy or syrupy. Wonderfully deep red fruit, licorice, and citrus peel with strong bolstering acidity that keeps it lively. Excellent tannic backbone as well. A real pleasure to drink now and I'd estimate another decade of potential. Am I wrong, or have wines of this ilk throttled down …

2015 vintage

big and deep let it breath

2015 vintage

This wine is just flying. Pop and pour and down she goes. Surprisingly easy drinker. Incense! Pot Pourri. Blue fruits. Slight raw meat, steel and graphite. Ultra smooth and refreshing palate and finish, where the blue fruits dominate. Mildly tannic, but good balance. Medium finish and very polished. Drinking very well now, don’t age it too much. I can only imagine the 15s and 16s are gonna be great.

2013 vintage

Lovely aroma and pretty ruby red color. Need to let the tannins integrate more so will save the rest a few years. 2nd day the wine opened up with a blast of cherries on the palate. Very nice. Decant and leave for next day if drinking now.

2016 vintage

Continue to be impressed with wine after wine from this producer. Beautiful Grenache driven effort here. Delicate without being shy.

2016 vintage

Are you sure?

Domaine Santa Duc, Gigondas, Les Hautes Garrigues

Vintages

No vintages

Community Reviews