Pierre Amadieu Gigondas Domaine Grand Romane 2021

Drink now or cellar for up to 10 years. No need to decant before serving. The Amadieu family have been making wine in this corner of the Rhone Valley for generations. In 1929 Pierre Amadieu decided to start bottling wine under his own name, sourcing grapes from his family’s prized 7 hectares of vines in Gigondas. Over the intervening years the estate has expanded to around 140 hectares with Pierre Junior running the winery and his uncle Claude looking after their vineyards. Amadieu’s vines are surrounded by 200 hectares of garrigue and oak trees and planted on hillsides at 230 to 500 metres above sea level. The vineyards are north-northwest facing which helps protect the vines from too much sun during the hot summer months, ensuring optimum ripeness with plenty of ripe, rich dark fruit flavours and smooth tannins. This charming Gigondas red is crafted from the family’s older vines set in the highest part of the vineyard at 400 metres above sea level. The grapes are all carefully picked by hand, usually long after the rest of the appellation. After vinification the young wine is then aged in a mixture of barrels and foudres for 18 months. Succulent cassis, black cherry and wild berries dominate on the nose along with hints of thyme, black olives, and woodsmoke from the oak ageing. The powerful full body and firm tannins make this a great wine to keep in the cellar for a few more years or to pair with hearty red meat dishes.

Price: £22.02 from 8wines UK