Gigondas AOC

The vineyards of Gigondas is a named after the village appellation in the southern Côtes du Rhône wine region in France. Since January 6, 1971, the municipality has the status of an Appellation d' Origine ( AOC short ). It produces mainly red wine and small amounts of rosé. The growing area of Gigondas AOC is limited to the community in Gigondas Vaucluse at the foot of the rocky area dentelles de Montmirail and extends over 1,300 hectares.

Soil and climate

The growing area spreads on gravel terraces, which are interspersed with reddish clay minerals from. The climate is Mediterranean. This means that the wine region differs from its northern neighbors who are exposed to a more continental climate. The defining geographical feature in the region are the dentelles de Montmirail, a small mountain, which divides the municipality in two different zones: the south of the ridge, it is often hot, temperate in the north. But the different altitude ( the wine region begins at about 100 meters and reaches on the slopes of a height up to 600 meters ) affects the ripening of the grapes.

Vinification

98 % of products are reds ( Gigondas rouge ) the rest make the few rosés ( Gigondas rosé) from. It will be produced in Gigondas are no more white wines. The appellation is limited to the municipality of Gigondas.

Varieties

The Gigondas is not a varietal wine, but a blend ( a blend ) from different red grape varieties, with the Grenache clearly dominated. According to the Institut national de l' origine et de la qualité ( INAO ) are designed for a maximum of 80 % Grenache rouge Gigondas, at least 15% Syrah and / or Mourvèdre and a maximum of 10% of the other in the Côtes du Rhône grape varieties cultivated (but not Carignan ) admitted. In addition to the first three varieties, many Gigondas wines also contain a small proportion of Cinsault grapes.

Quality assurance

The yield is limited to low 35 hectoliters per hectare. The minimum alcohol content is mandatory and must be at least 12.5 percent by volume. But typically it is higher, in a good year he is about 14 %.

Maturation

A good year Gigondas rouge may be ten years or more mature in the cellar and also benefits usually depend. Since the wine is vinified but mainly from the Grenache grape, is modest vintages not particularly well suited for a long bottle aging and should be tasted young.

Production volume

In the year 1924 4.784 hectoliters were produced, 1967 25.887 hectoliters and today there are around 40,000 hectoliters, which yields about five million bottles.

Character

The Gigondas Rouge impresses more by its massiveness as its elegance. The wine is a red Châteauneuf -du -Pape quite similar. Recommend caterers wine especially at the game.

History

Around the year 1120 donated the Bishop of Vaison Rostang III. of him insinuate parish of Gigondas to cover the expenses incurred a fief to the also scored a vineyard on the Ouvèze. He did this with the following Latin words ( It is the oldest act, which is a vineyard in Gigondas :)

" Petro vero Alberto Gigundatis per vinea quoe sita est juxta viam publicam est inter ( ... otam ) episcopalem et Fluvium Ovicœ SOLIDIS ordo dedit. "

The next witness is from the year 1341, when the Prince of Orange ruled the neighboring areas. A representative of this noble family, Raymond V of Baux, promised the inhabitants of Gigondas against a seven-year right to use the vineyard certain freedoms. A document from 1376 testifies to the Vine growing on a property with the name Les Bosquet and another transcript from 1380 states that the vineyards of the chapel Notre- Dame-des- Pallières Gigondas extended to the banks of the Ouvèze.

In the 19th century, the population turned more and more from the wine-producing, to concentrate on the cultivation of olive and mulberry trees for silkworm breeding. It was only in 1861 revived the family Raspail and in particular their representatives Eugène Raspail after his political career the wine again. Three years later, his products through the port of Roquemaure on the Rhone to Valence and Lyon as well as other waterways were also shipped to Saint -Etienne and Paris. The invasion of phylloxera around ten years later, only temporarily stop the rise of wine production in Gigondas.

After the great frost had destroyed the olive groves at the foot of the dentelles de Montmirail in the winter of 1956, the farmers Jean -Louis Alexandre, René Astran, Albin Gaudin, René Goubert, Jules Marcel Fernand Pezenas and Jean Souchières decided to start a wine cooperative, which they called Cave des vignerons de Gigondas. The wines were first marketed under the appellation Cotes du Rhone Villages, but that was the ambition of the winemaker is not breastfed. On January 6, 1971 were the producers of Gigondas from the INAO, the first area in the Côtes du Rhône, the right to a local origin. Since then, the wines may. which are generated in the municipal area are sold under the name Gigondas AOC.