These Gigondas Wines Outscored Almost All of Châteauneuf

Saint-Damien 2023 Gigondas Link to Purchase Wine: https://www.winex.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=%23SAINT-DAMIEN Link to Glasses: https://www.winex.com/fontaine-premier-universal-wine-glass.html Join our Daily Email Offer List: https://cdn.forms-content.sg-form.com/f3da488a-d10b-11ee-94a3-62718bdc6118 Early bird gets the worm. When Jeb Dunnuck’s 2023 Southern Rhône report dropped, we moved immediately. Two wines stood above the pack in Gigondas. Both from Saint-Damien. Both scored 98 points. Let that sink in. These were not just top scoring Gigondas. They would have ranked third overall in Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the same vintage. The only wines ahead were $300 to $400 bottlings from legends like Beaucastel and Clos des Papes. Saint-Damien delivers this level every year. La Louisiane comes from mid-slope vineyards with sandy red soils and a touch of Cinsault, giving it perfume, suppleness, and aromatic lift. Old vine Grenache planted in the 1940s anchors the wine with depth and sweetness of fruit. Les Souteyrades sits on lower terraces with more clay and no Cinsault. The result is darker, slightly more structured, with more bass notes and grip. Both wines are fermented in concrete and aged in large neutral foudres. No new oak. No gloss. Just old vines, organic farming, and serious Rhône power refined by the next generation of the Sorel family. The 2023 vintage delivered richness and sunshine, but the refinement here is what separates these wines. Weight and flesh are expected in Gigondas. Precision and delineation are earned. 98 points each. $39.98 each. If you love Rhône and want Châteauneuf-level performance without Châteauneuf pricing, this is the move.