One of the many long-established wine tropes that needs to go away is the assertion that Gigondas, perhaps the best-known (along with Vacqueyras) of the southern Rhône ‘cru’ villages, is a “little brother,” or “cheaper cousin” of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. While it is true that (a) both Gigondas and Châteauneuf are Grenache-based blends, and (b) the two towns are only about 10 miles apart, they are nevertheless different terroirs.
The vineyards of Châteauneuf-du-Pape are lower-lying hills and alluvial plateaus with high percentages of sand and river cobble, while the vineyards of Gigondas climb to higher elevations, into the foothills of the limestone-rich Dentelles de Montmirail—a shark-toothed mountain range that looms over the town and shapes the style of its wines. Since the 1960s, the foremost interpreter of the Gigondas terroir has been the Archimbaud family of the Château de Montmirail. You may find some kindred qualities to Châteauneuf in this 2014 “Cuvée de Beauchamp,” and it is indeed much less expensive than Châteauneuf, but this is a wine that must be judged on its own merits, not in ‘relative’ terms. It is a dark, meaty red, but it has none of the syrupy, liqueur-like fruit that weighs down so many of its southern Rhône contemporaries. There is a pronounced mineral edge and a backbone of acidity indicative of a ‘mountain’ wine, and it combines brawn and brightness in a way Châteauneuf rarely does these days. So let’s call it what it is: Gigondas the way Gigondas is meant to be.