ABOUT: Domaine Giraud was founded in 1974 by husband and wife Pierre and Mireille. They both hail from deep generations of vignerons and distillers in Chateauneuf-du-Pape; the winery is currently housed in Mireille’s family’s defunct distillery from several decades ago. They began with 4 hectares and have bloomed into 30 presently, with some ancient Grenache vines in their possession. Also presently the kids are in charge, Francois and Marie, who took over the reigns in 1998 and made the conversion to organic certification in 2011. They work with a myriad of different soil types, red clay and gravelly soils in Les Galimardes and Le Crau, also limestone in Les Terres Blanches and sand in Pignan. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks and concrete vats of various sizes, with only the Syrah being aged in barrel, the rest is aged in concrete. The Les Gallimardes is a blend of Grenache and Syrah grapes, some harvested from 100 year old vines. The wines are meticulous and incredibly high quality with terrific ageing potential. And scarce! TASTE: The reviews of this wine are worth repeating-
“Bigger and richer, the 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Gallimardes is mostly Grenache (there’s 10% Syrah) all from incredibly old vines in the Les Gallimardes lieu-dit located in the southern part of the appellation. This estate owns a tiny parcel here, and this cuvée is incredibly limited, with just 250 cases made. Possessing a huge, incredible nose of blackberries, black raspberries, crushed rocks, garrigue, melted licorice, and cured meats, this full-bodied 2016 has a wealth of fruit and richness, no hard edges, building tannins, and awesome purity of fruit. It’s the finest example of this cuvée ever made and a perfect wine. Don’t miss it! “100 points Jeb Dunnuck
“This drips with steeped raspberry, plum and boysenberry fruit, giving this a decidedly fruit-driven personality. Shows ample spine, with a deeply buried bolt of graphite and hints of Turkish coffee and ganache skittering through. Offers a long echo of smoldering tobacco. A stunner. “97 points Wine Spectator PAIR:Eggplant parmesan from Parm, mushroom lentil pot pie with puff pastry, black bean and mushroom burrito, Impossible burger with onion rings, and a bowl of spicy 3 bean chili.
