2010 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Les Gallimardes, Domaine Giraud, Rhône

2010 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Les Gallimardes, Domaine Giraud, Rhône

Product: 20108213026
Prices start from £490.00 per case Buying options
2010 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Les Gallimardes, Domaine Giraud, Rhône

Buying options

Available by the case In Bond. Pricing excludes duty and VAT, which must be paid separately before delivery. Storage charges apply.
Case format
Availability
Price per case
6 x 75cl bottle
BBX marketplace BBX 1 case £490.00
You can place a bid for this wine on BBX

Description

90% centurion Grenache and 10% Syrah make up this block-buster, a big beast indeed, but with all important balancing acidity and tightly-knit tannins. A keeper.
Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer, February 2012

With the weighty (in every sense) guidance of Rhône guru Philippe Cambie, Marie Giraud has re-invigorated this property, energising it with a pleasing combination of natural charm, organic viticulture and sensible yields. 2010 has, as Marie advises with pithy precision, ‘plus de buvabilité’ than its immediate predecessor.

wine at a glance

Delivery and quality guarantee

Critics reviews

Wine Advocate98/100
Deeper, richer, more concentrated, and shockingly good, Girauds 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Les Gallimardes is an incredible expression of Grenache from the southern part of the appellation. Loaded with ripe black raspberry, cassis, licorice, roasted herbs and crushed rock-like characteristic, it has awesome richness, thrilling purity and sweet tannin that emerges on the finish. A stunning success that should not be missed, it will drink well for 15-20 years.
Jeb Dunnuck - 28/08/2014 Read more
Robert Parker95-97/100
The 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape Les Gallimardes blew me away. Made from 90% Grenache (from vines planted in 1905) and 10% Syrah (from 40 year old vines), it boasts a black/purple color along with a glorious perfume of kirsch, blackberries, sweet cherries, smoked meats, charcuterie and spice box. This rich, full-bodied, opulent blockbuster possesses good acidity as well as sweet, silky tannin. It should drink well for 25+ years.
(Robert Parker - Wine Advocate #197 Oct 2011)

his morsellated estate, which has nearly 50 acres of vines (all organically farmed) spread throughout the appellation, has been resurrected and reinvigorated by Francois and Marie Giraud, whose cellars are in the northwest area of the village of Chateauneuf du Pape, close to Clos du Mont Olivet. Philippe Cambie, the consulting oenologist, has helped make this one of the up-and-coming super-stars of the appellation. In top vintages, three cuvees are produced, the classic Tradition along with single vineyard offerings from the Les Gallimardes lieu-dit and a spectacular wine called Les Grenaches de Pierre from 105 year old Grenache vines planted in pure sand from the Grand Pierre lieu-dit adjacent to Chateau Rayas. Read more

About this WINE

Domaine Giraud

Domaine Giraud

Domaine Giraud is new to our list this year. Having espied an impressive progression over the last three years, we feel that the 2009 has progressed even further. Marie Giraud is the talented winemaker and advice from the larger-than-life consultant Monsieur Philippe Cambie has brought the property to the boil. The biodynamic approach to viticulture was more than a match, it seems, for the intense heat of high summer, when moisture was at a premium.

Find out more
Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Châteauneuf-du-Pape

The most celebrated village of the Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape is the birthplace of the now indispensable French Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée system – imperfect though it may be. Compared to the Northern Rhône, the vineyards here are relatively flat and often feature the iconic galet pebbles – the precise benefits of which are a source of much debate. Minimum alcohol levels required by the AOC are the highest in France, but at 12.5% it is well below the natural generosity of Grenache, which only achieves its full aromatic potential when it is fully ripe and laden with the resultant high sugars. Syrah and Mourvèdre contribute the other defining elements in the blend, adding pepper, savoury spice and structure to the decadent Grenache. There are a further 10 permitted red grape varieties which can be used to adjust the “seasoning”. Of the five white varieties permitted, it is Grenache Noir’s sibling – predictably perhaps – Grenache Blanc, which dominates, though Roussanne shows a great deal of promise when handled well, notably at Château de Beaucastel.

Find out more
Southern Rhône Blend

Southern Rhône Blend

The vast majority of wines from the Southern Rhône are blends. There are 5 main black varieties, although others are used and the most famous wine of the region, Châteauneuf du Pape, can be made from as many as 13 different varieties. Grenache is the most important grape in the southern Rhône - it contributes alcohol, warmth and gentle juicy fruit and is an ideal base wine in the blend. Plantings of Syrah in the southern Rhône have risen dramatically in the last decade and it is an increasingly important component in blends. It rarely attains the heights that it does in the North but adds colour, backbone, tannins and soft ripe fruit to the blend.

The much-maligned Carignan has been on the retreat recently but is still included in many blends - the best old vines can add colour, body and spicy fruits. Cinsault is also backtracking but, if yields are restricted, can produce moderately well-coloured wines adding pleasant-light fruit to red and rosé blends. Finally, Mourvèdre, a grape from Bandol on the Mediterranean coast, has recently become an increasingly significant component of Southern Rhône blends - it often struggles to ripen fully but can add acidity, ripe spicy berry fruits and hints of tobacco to blends.

Find out more