Deeper, richer, more concentrated, and shockingly good, Giraud’s 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Les Gallimardes is an incredible expression of Grenache from the southern part of the appellation. Loaded with ripe black raspberry, cassis, licorice, roasted herbs and crushed rock-like characteristic, it has awesome richness, thrilling purity and sweet tannin that emerges on the finish. A stunning success that should not be missed, it will drink well for 15-20 years. One of my favorite estates in the Southern Rhone, Domaine Giraud is run by the brother/sister pair Marie and Francois Giraud, with Marie making the wines and Francois managing the vineyards. Created in 1974 by Pierre and Mireille Giraud, it wasn’t until 1998 that they bottled their first release (both a traditional Chateauneuf and a Cuvee Les Gallimardes). While some estates have a difficult transition from generation to generation, in this case, Pierre let Marie make the wines in 2001, and after tasting the results, quickly gave her full rein. In addition, Philippe Cambie lends his consulting advice here. The style certainly leans toward the hedonistic end of the spectrum, but the wines always have beautiful purity and classy, balanced profiles. For this tasting, we started with their Les Gallimardes cuvee and finished with the Les Grenache de Pierre. I’ve listed the wines in the order tasted. In addition to superb reds, they made a rock-solid white. Starting with the Les Gallimardes cuvee, this bottling comes all from the Les Galimardes lieu-dit that’s located in the southern, warmer portion of the appellation. The soils here are mostly rolled pebbles, and the vines are over 100 years in age. The wine is almost all Grenache (roughly 10% Syrah), completely destemmed (as of 1999) and has the Grenache aged all in tank and the Syrah all in smaller barrels. It’s always a rich, sexy and full-throttle effort, yet to me, it offers thrilling Chateauneuf du Pape character and is easily one of my favorite wines. Compared to the Les Grenache de Pierre release, the Les Gallimardes is more exuberant, overflowing and hedonistic. In addition, they implemented a stricter selection for this cuvee in 2005 and moved to using only their older vines. I think it shows, as current releases have additional depth, concentration and purity. Moving to their Grenaches de Pierre releases (which translates to “Grenache of their Grandfather”), this cuvee comes from 100-year-old vines planted in the sandy soils of the La Crau and Pignan lieux-dits. It’s made from 100% Grenache and aged almost completely in concrete tank. It’s always slightly more polished than the Les Gallimardes release and has beautiful complexity and purity, while not skimping on the textured or depth of fruit that’s present in all of Marie’s wines. Importer: Eric Solomon, European Cellars, Charlotte, NC; tel. (704) 358-1565

The 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape Les Gallimardes blew me away. Made from 90% Grenache (from vines planted in 1905) and 10% Syrah (from 40 year old vines), it boasts a black/purple color along with a glorious perfume of kirsch, blackberries, sweet cherries, smoked meats, charcuterie and spice box. This rich, full-bodied, opulent blockbuster possesses good acidity as well as sweet, silky tannin. It should drink well for 25+ years. (Not yet released)This morsellated estate, which has nearly 50 acres of vines (all organically farmed) spread throughout the appellation, has been resurrected and reinvigorated by Francois and Marie Giraud, whose cellars are in the northwest area of the village of Chateauneuf du Pape, close to Clos du Mont Olivet. Philippe Cambie, the consulting oenologist, has helped make this one of the up-and-coming super-stars of the appellation. In top vintages, three cuvees are produced, the classic Tradition along with single vineyard offerings from the Les Gallimardes lieu-dit and a spectacular wine called Les Grenaches de Pierre from 105 year old Grenache vines planted in pure sand from the Grand Pierre lieu-dit adjacent to Chateau Rayas. A white Chateauneuf du Pape is also produced. The 2009 red Chateauneuf du Papes performed better from bottle than they did last year from barrel.Importer: Eric Solomon, European Cellars, Charlotte, NC; tel. (704) 358-1565