Domaine Santa Duc : Les Hautes Garrigues 2021

Tasting Characteristics and Advice for Les Hautes Garrigues 2021 from Domaine Santa Duc

Tasting

Appearance

The wine displays a deep red color with purple highlights.

Nose

The nose opens with aromas of ripe black fruits, notably blackberry, black cherry and plum. Spicy notes of black pepper, licorice and cocoa enrich the bouquet. With aeration, the typical garrigue character emerges, bringing herbal and lavender nuances.

Palate

On the palate, the wine is broad, intense and full-bodied, carried by silky, elegant tannins. A remarkable freshness runs through the palate despite the wine’s richness. The finish lingers with persistence, revealing spicy and mineral characteristics.

Food and Wine Pairing

This wine pairs perfectly with herb-roasted leg of lamb with Herbes de Provence, dry-aged beef, or aged firm cheeses such as farmhouse Saint-Nectaire or ewe’s-milk tomme.

Serving and Cellaring

Les Hautes Garrigues 2021 is ideally enjoyed at a temperature of 15 to 17°C. Aerating for 30 to 60 minutes before serving helps soften the tannic structure. This wine can be enjoyed from 2024 and will reach its peak between around 2027 and 2030.

An Elegant and Powerful Gigondas from the Rhône Valley

The estate

Founded in 1874, Domaine Santa Duc is one of the benchmark names of the Gigondas appellation in the Southern Rhône Valley. It farms around 30 hectares of vineyards spread across several prestigious appellations. Yves Gras, who took over in 1985, transformed the estate into a pioneer of organic viticulture in the region. Since 2017, his son Benjamin Gras has been running the estate and has taken it a step further by obtaining Demeter biodynamic certification in 2016. The estate is internationally recognized for wines that combine power and elegance, expressing the exceptional Gigondas terroirs with purity. Benjamin has also invested in new gravity-flow facilities and terracotta amphorae to further refine the quality of the winemaking.

The vineyard

The grapes for Les Hautes Garrigues come from the finest plots located on the high plateau of Gigondas overlooking the Dentelles de Montmirail. The vines, averaging around 75 years of age, are planted on sandy soils exceptionally rich in red clay and coarse gravel. This geological formation, originating from the Font des Papes cone, results from the accumulation of materials carried down from the Dentelles de Montmirail. The terroir benefits from a pronounced Mediterranean influence, shaped by the surrounding garrigue, made up of wild lavender, thyme and other aromatic plants.

The vintage

Winter 2021 in the Rhône Valley was marked by a rare, severe frost episode affecting the entire French vineyard. The milder spring allowed flowering at the end of May, followed by particularly rainy months of June and July. Weather instability was observed from mid-July to mid-August. The welcome rains at the end of August promoted optimal ripening, revealing berries of remarkable generosity and balance.

Winemaking and aging

The Les Hautes Garrigues 2021 harvest is carried out by hand, with rigorous double sorting, first in the vineyard and then on a sorting table at the winery. Vinification takes place in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks with fermentation by indigenous yeasts. A portion of the bunches is vinified as whole clusters. Pump-overs are performed twice a day during fermentation. Aging lasts for around 18 months in large 36-hectoliter foudres and 8-hectoliter terracotta amphorae. The wine is bottled without filtration or fining.

Grape varieties

Grenache (50%)
Mourvèdre (50%)