Jussi
Jeg kan godt huske den "burgundiske" Santa Roc, som du rapporterede om fra Paris. Du har vel læst på hjemmesiden(?): "This wine is the fruit of the cooperation between Yves Gras from Santa Duc in Gigondas and Rémy Pédréno from Roc d’Anglade in Langlade. According to the tradition of great southern Rhone wines, the former produces powerful and well-structured wines in Gigondas that last for years. Now he wants to explore a different path.
Together they decided to create a “different” Gigondas, that expresses its terroir through finesse, balance and a mineral freshness that ensures its longevity." Her har vi et eksempel på en stilmæssig forskel, der kan tilskrives bevidste valg af producent/winemaker.
Noget af forklaringen på din oplevelse af stilmæssige udsving i Gigondas, kan muligvis tilskrives årgang 2008, der var plaget af regn på det værst tænkelige tidspunkt, hvilket generelt resulterede i høst af opsvulmede, udvandede druer. Vi skal tilbage til 2002 for at finde en lignende årgang i det sydlige Rhone. Vinene blev lysere - mere burgundiske - end normalt. Jancis Robinson: "Whereas when tasting the 2007 southern Rhône reds I found myself writing ´black cherry´ time after time, the 2008s were definitely more in the red-fruit spectrum."
Endelig adskiller Gigondas sig rent geografisk fra flere andre AC´er i Syd-Rhone (bl.a. Chateauneuf-du-Pape) ved signifikant terroirmæssig variation: "Gigondas is arguably, along with Châteauneuf du Pape, one of the best places to grow grenache in the world, which is why most wines from here are 70% grenache or more. Altitude also plays a big role. The alluvial soils of the plateau begin at 100 meters and climb up around the village itself to finish on the steep hillsides at over 400 meters. The higher the altitude, the poorer the soil becomes, with an increasing proportion of stones on the surface. The soils are well-drained and quickly absorb the rare Provençal rainfall. The stones on the surface retain the warmth of the sun throughout the night, allowing for a continuous vegetative cycle. Finally, the Dentelles mountains themselves play an important role in the terroir of Gigondas, as they shade certain vineyards early in the day and others in the late afternoon, providing a respite for the vines that suffer in the hot summer sun. There is often a slight breeze blowing through the hills. All of these elements—plus the huge variation in vineyard exposition—makes for great diversity in Gigondas." (
http://palatepress.com/2…from-above/) Linket viser også fine luftfotos af hhv. flade og stejle Gigondas-marker.