Domaine Santa Duc Gigondas Les Hautes Garrigues 2019

50-50 blend of Grenache and Mourvèdre. Despite its richness and power, this blend of equal parts Grenache and Mourvèdre offers breathtaking airiness and perfume. Sourced from 75-year-old vines planted on sandy soils of the Les Hautes Garrigues lieu-dit, it's a bold, muscular red concentrated with flavours of dried plums and blueberries.

This Gigondas is made from old vines in a very high altitude, single vineyard site. From stony, poor red clay soils from 3 hectares on Hautes Garrigues, These are our historic parcels, the terroir in which the wines of our estate have been firmly rooted for six generations, starting when the Domaine was established in 1874. In 1852 the town council of Gigondas decided to auction 12 hectares of communal land, and the vines that were soon planted there revealed these great terroirs. These parcels are all entirely within the Les Hautes Garrigues lieu-dit (named place) on the plateau of Gigondas.

----ABOUT THE PRODUCER----

Representing the 5th generation, Yves Gras has much in common with his beloved Gigondas terroir to which he has devoted so much of himself. As measured and humble as he is outspoken and committed, precise and hardworking, he represents the new guard of the nineties who contributed to putting Gigondas on the map.  When, in 1985, he took on the family estate where he had grown up, he immediately made the choice to go organic, convinced that this was the best way of giving voice to this pure, wild terroir. Rigorous and attentive to the smallest detail, he crafts with passion beautifully chiseled wines that express all the beauty of nature. His love of great terroirs led him in 2009 to acquire some magnificent parcels at Châteauneuf-du-Pape, but also to undertake the replanting and renovation of a forgotten ‘Clos’ in the village of Gigondas –   the Clos Derrière Vieille.

6th generation of the Gras family, Benjamin has worked hand in hand with his father since 2017. After obtaining a diploma in oenology at the University of Bourgogne in Dijon, his experience was enriched by periods spent in prestigious wine estates such as Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Bodega Vega-Sicilia. The OIV MSc in Wine Management program gave him the extraordinary opportunity to visit 28 wine producing countries and meet and exchange with his peers from around the world. This experience reinforced his beliefs and his admiration for the skills and the excellence of the very best estates, working as close as possible to nature and expressing all the singularity of each terroir via a parcel selection approach. He therefore maintained organic agriculture, converting the entire estate to biodynamic methods in the Autumn of 2016, and re-thinking the range of wines to put the emphasis on local terroirs. Just as his father did, he favors as little intervention as possible in winemaking, and respect for what nature has offered, whilst working with extreme precision and rigor. A work of continuity, but with the passion and the zeal of youth, he brings new energy just as his father did in his time. The saga continues with Benjamin.

1874. The first buildings are constructed. Six generations succeed each other at Domaine Santa Duc, each adding their own contribution to its development on this terroir of Gigondas that has been renowned since gallo-roman times for its characterful red wines. Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah and Cinsault; the Gras family are committed to bringing out the best in these noble grapes

1985. Yves Gras takes over from his father Edmond and offers a new international dimension to the wines endowed with generously ripe fruit, a touch of wild herbs and immense length. Very soon Robert Parker was writing: “Santa Duc combines the muscle, richness and fire of a classic Gigondas with a degree of elegance and purity that many wines of this appellation lack.”  In 2005, the book “The World’s Greatest Wine Estates”, published by Simon & Schuster, showcases the long history and unique character of the estate’s wines. “Les Hautes Garrigues”, from one of the best vineyards in the region on the great plateau of Gigondas, attains iconic status. It is a wine that reveals an immediately recognizable expression of the terroir of Gigondas and a distinct minerality drawn from the argillaceous and incredibly stony soils. But Yves Gras’ vision, as keen as that of the Grand Duc owl that is found in the region, and after which the Domaine is named, takes him ever further afield. Continuing his search for cool terroirs capable of producing great wines, he acquires several magnificent parcels at Châteauneuf-du-Pape, at la Crau.

1994. Yves Gras begins a new project. He renovates and embellishes a forgotten Clos, magnificently situated overlooking the church and the hospice of the village of Gigondas: the “Clos DerrièreVieille”. For Benjamin, who has taken the helm, one thing is certain: the soils and the orientation may be different between this monopole Clos and « Les Hautes Garrigues”, but the philosophy remains unquestionably the same. Massal selections, biodynamics, whole cluster vinification, fermentation with wild yeats, minimum intervention, non-filtered wines….

2019. The story continues. Expertise unique in Gigondas, extended also to the single parcel selections of Châteauneuf-du-Pape – La Crau Ouest, Les Saintes Vierges, Le Pied de Baud, Habemus Papam, allow Benjamin to reveal the qualities that are essential in a great wine: balance, elegance, purity and depth. Only natural for a family of winemakers born at the foot of the Dentelles de Montmirail hills, whose splendour and natural beauty are a daily source of creative inspiration.