"dick" > wrote in news:8A4_b.15786$hm4.8214
@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net:

> Thanks. Sorry for this question...is Gigondas wines similar to C De
> Pape...just on of same village?
>
> What is difference in D De Pape and Gigandas?

As Mark said similar though Gigondas is primarily Grenache and Syrah
(IIRC) with a dose of Mourvedre with the neighboring Vacqueyras, as
indicated in recent thread, a bit less Grenache.

Mark posted the following on 1-29:

Here are my notes from a recent tasting put on by JC Mathes of J et R
Selections (http://www.jetrselections.com), a smallish importer who
specializes in wines from small domaines in the Rhône Valley, with a few
domaines from elsewhere in France. All told, they import 140 different
domaines, and IMO generally bring in wines of character and value. Last
night's wines:
,other material snipped>

1999 La Tourade Vacqueyras
nose: gamey , cherries, smoke
palate: acidic on entry, giving way to cherry fruit and medium body,
giving way to gaminess in the finish.
Now this is more like it (at ~$15)! Made from 80/10/10
Grenache/Syrah/Mourvedre (as are all their Gigondas cuveés), it has that
funkiness that I associate with Vacqueyras (guaranteed to turn Jean off
in a heartbeat). Quite a nice value.

2000 La Tourade Vacqueyras
nose: gamey, cherries
palate: softer on entry than the '99, rich fruit in the midpalate before
an acidic finish.
Softer and simpler than the '99, but still a decent wine. Between the
two, however, I preferred the '99.

1999 La Tourade Gigondas
nose: slightly floral, with minerals, cherry and smoke
palate: acidic entry, cherry, gaminess, with mild tannins and acid in
the finish
This cuvée was made from younger vines, but still has substance and
character. Quite typical of Gigondas (IMO) and a decent bargain at $18.

2000 La Tourade Gigondas
nose: cherry and minerals
palate: acidic, slightly thinner and less appealing than the '99, but
similar in character

1998 La Tourade Gigondas Cuvée Font des Aieux
nose: deep cherry fruit
palate: pencil lead, tannins in the midpalate, modestly fruity
Similar in many ways to a decent CdP, this wine didn't have quite enough
fruit to go with the still substantial tannins.

2000 La Tourade Gigondas Cuvée Font des Aieux
nose: some heat, and oak(??) with deep cherry fruit
palate: rich mouthfeel, lots of cherryish fruit and a tannic finish
This was the biggest of the Gigondas stable, but also more expensive
(~$24). This one might develop into something very interesting in a few
years, though.

2000 La Tourade Gigondas Cuvée Morgan
nose: licorice and volatile esters
palate: licorice, cedar, red fruit and an oaky finish
This, according to JC, is the domaine's bow to American taste: Gigondas
aged in new barriques. JC only imports it because his customers love it
(he doesn't). I'm with JC: this is closer to Zin or Aussie Shiraz than
Gigondas.

Of all the Gigondas tasted from this producer, the '99 regular cuvée and
the 2000 Font des Aieux stood out. It would have been fun to try the
'99 Font des Aieux as I generally preferred the wines from that year,
but it wasn't available.

1999 Grand Tinel Chateauneuf du Pape
nose: leather, tobacco and some fruit underneath
palate: rich mouthfeel, cherry fruit, before a clean finish
A very nice CdP selling for a Gigondas price (~$25). After the earlier
wines, this came across as big and rich. Yum!

1999 Bois de Boursan Chateauneuf du Pape
nose: gamey, leather and seaweed
palate: slightly alcholic on entry, giving way to deep cherry fruit and
an acidic finish
Yes, this is the same wine I tasted last week! (5 wines from J et R at
the last tasting) If you go back and read my notes from that tasting,
you'll see why I'm not a professional wine reviewer. ;-) Good stuff,
though (~$30).

2001 Domaine du Pégaü Chateauneuf du Pape
nose: slightly corked (dammit! it was the last bottle, too), flowers
and fruit beneath
palate: big wine, lots of cherry and berryish fruit, tannic and tarry
before a 60 second finish.
WOW! I can only imagine what this wine would have been like if it
hadn't been corked, but still impressive. I missed out on the 2000
Pégaü, but as I had it at last year's J et R tasting, I wasn't too torn
up. People who had both were largely more favorable about the 2000,
but it could simply be that it was a year softer (actually, the 2000 is
probably bigger IIRC). The only thing not to like is the price ($48),
but that's the price of success...

Overall, a great tasting put on by a great guy (JC). The wines were
generally of quite high quality, with lots of personality and very
reasonably priced wines. As they are now distributed in over a dozen
states in the US (see the website for names) these are wines worth
looking for.

Mark Lipton