Domaine du Gour de Chaule "Cuveé Tradition" Gigondas Magnum, Rhone Valley, France 2019

FROM ROSENTHAL:

THE WINE: Several important vineyard sites form this Gigondas, including Gour de Chaulé, Les Blaches, and Les Bousquets. The Grenache vines average well over a half century in age, with low yields of 30-32 hl/ha. The grapes are never destemmed and there is a 3 week cuvaison with a small amount of press juice added back to the cuvée. The wine is racked into large oak “foudres” after malo where it stays for approximately 18 months, being bottled—unfined and unfiltered—three years after harvest. The resulting wine is sturdy, braced with sweet, dusty tannins, and is intensely aromatic with notes of crushed white pepper, oriental spices and game.

THE PRODUCER: The Domaine Gour de Chaulé, situated in the heart of the village of Gigondas, was founded in 1900 by Eugene Bonfils, the great-grandfather of the current proprietor, Stephanie Fumoso. All the wine produced at the estate was sold in bulk to negociants until 1970 when Madame Rolande Beaumet, Eugene’s daughter and the grandmother of Stéphanie, began to bottle a small percentage of the estate’s wine for sale to private clients. Madame Beaumet’s daughter, Aline Bonfils, ascended to the head of the domaine in the early 1980s and it was under the direction of Aline that the tradition of estate bottling expanded significantly. We arrived at her doorstep virtually at that same moment and, from that day, we became the exclusive representative in the USA of the Domaine Gour de Chaulé, purchasing increasingly more important quantities of this classic version of Gigondas. The domaine comprises 15 hectares, 10 of which are within Gigondas with the remaining 5 hectares situated in the surrounding communes of Vacqueyras and Violes. Aline Bonfils believes strongly in Grenache as the heart and soul of Gigondas and she has transmitted this philosophy to her daughter, Stéphanie. Thus, 85% of the vineyards are planted to Grenache, with approximately 10% dedicated to Syrah and Mourvèdre and the balance planted to Cinsault. Further, this family has always conducted their affairs with the understanding that minimal intervention in the vineyards and in the cave is essential to preserving the essential character of the wines of this important appellation. Note, particularly, that the red wines here are produced from grapes that are not destemmed, an approach that we believe is essential to provide the classic character of Gigondas.

The Domaine Gour de Chaulé is one of the most important domaines in the RWM portfolio, not only in terms of volume of wine purchased but with respect, as well, to the depth of mutual commitment between our two families. We are continually impressed by the consistent high quality, the exceptional value and the faithful representation of the essence of this appellation that issue from this estate annually. We are honored to present the three wines of Gour de Chaulé.