The Winery Calade des Evêques of Gigondas of Rhone Valley

Of all the columns I’ve written this year, this one should have been the easiest to write: open my tasting notes file, sort by year 2021, sort by score, select the top ten highest scoring wines, copy and paste. Go to the pub. But it’s not that simple. Some wines are technically perfect and undeniably excellent, wines I respect greatly that deserve their high scores – but on a personal level, they leave me a little cold. Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for Matt Walls’ top ...

‘All good quality years have hydric stress,’ says Jacky Bernard, President of AOC Vacqueyras, ‘otherwise you don’t get the necessary concentration… But extreme stress is counterproductive.’ Scroll down for tasting notes and scores for the top-scoring Gigondas, Vacqueyras & Beaumes de Venise 2020 wines {"content":"PHA+VmFjcXVleXJhcywgcGVyaGFwcyB0aGFua3MgdG8gaXRzIHByb3BvcnRpb24gb2Ygb2xkIHZpbmVzICg0MiUgYXJlIG92ZXIgNDAgeWVhcnMgb2xkKSByb2RlIG91dCB0aGUgZHJvdW ...

At a national committee meeting held on Thursday 8th September, members of the Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité (INAO) voted unanimously to ratify the change to the appellation guidelines to allow white wines into AP Gigondas. A working group of growers and négociants has been pursuing the amendment for 11 years. The amendment states that white Gigondas must contain a minimum 70% Clairette. Other permitted varieties include Bourboulenc, Clairette Rose, Grenache Gris, Grenache Blan ...