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The living soils at Clos du Joncuas produce wines of great character, and we are happy to have a new shipment arriving this week, featuring the 2015 and 2019 Gigondas, their new releases from Seguret and Vacqueyras, not to mention their sensational 2020 Gigondas Rosé!
Clos du Joncuas, founded in 1920 by Pierre Auguste Chastan, has farmed with organic methods from the very beginning (depuis toujours) and has been officially organic since 1980. Currently run by sisters Dany and Carole Chastan, the estate's Gigondas vines are on slopes below the Dentelles de Montmirail, on soils of clay with dolomite and gypsum over the limestone of the Dentelles, and average 40 to 90 years old. Vinifications here are entirely old-school; whole-clusters fermented with wild yeasts in cement and aged in old barrels. Both in their farming and winemaking, they are the Domaine Gonon of Gigondas!
While recent vintages here have been uniformly good, the 2015 and 2019 Gigondas are particularly excellent, both for current drinking in their rather full and muscular youth and for cellaring to enjoy at maturity over the next 15 to 20 years. The estate's 2019 Vacqueyras, produced on stony limestone soils, is also outstanding and a great value for drinking now and cellaring until about 2030 - 2035. While we enjoy the fresh and spicy Joncuas Seguret Rouge, we are also big fans of their Seguret Blanc, made primarily from Clairette, with many of the vines over 100 years-old - it's a very complex and full-flavored white that is perfect with fish, in sauce or stews, and pork and chicken dishes as well. Complex and full-flavored can also describe the 2020 Clos du Joncuas Rosé - a big favorite of the CSW staff, this is a real rosé of terroir that is a great accompaniment to grilled tuna, chicken or pork and is a fabulous aperitif.
We love this review of the 2015 Gigondas in drinkrhone.com: The 2015 Clos du Joncuas Gigondas has a most appealing dark red robe, really good lustre. The bouquet is stylish and precise, gives a pinpoint of red berry fruit with a backing of darker fruits and a little baking. There is a rose-hip touch as well. The palate is elegance personified, carries finely tuned red fruits from the old Grenache vines, with a set of silken tannins. This is archetypical en finesse Gigondas, a most beautiful bottle, a wine of terroir that murmurs its subtle truth in winning fashion. One for the thinkers and students, deserves respect and thought. It tiptoes its way into the aftertaste, which is flecked with grain and its texture. From spring 2019. Decanting advised. Drink until 2033-35
Our thanks to Carole and Dany Chastan for their superb vineyard work and their no-nonsence vinifications - they are brilliantly upholding the real traditions of the Southern Rhone!
(Wines are in stock at our warehouse, please allow 5 - 7 days business days before pick-up or shipment)
(Tasted January 2023: Beautiful nose, gorgeous fruit, a bit softer and richer than the 2016, great finish, delicious!) 80% Grenache with Mourvedre, Cinsault and Syrah, on Triassic clay/limestone soils, always farmed organically. Whole cluster fermentation in vat with 12 months aging in large old barrels. Although we love this beautifully old-fashioned, organic wine in every vintage, Dany and Carole Chastan have made perhaps their best wine ever in 2015! The wine shows deep aromas of blackberry, dark chocolate, prune, garrigue, musk and citrus, quite focused and elegant. The palate is pure, supple and balanced, even at 15% alcohol, with dense blackberry, tart cherry, red currant, spice, earth and minerals, with tart red fruits, minerals and citrus in the very long finish. This is a superb Gigondas that can be enjoyed immensely now with a steak, pork or lamb chops, Morrocan tagines and full-flavored cheeses. Cellar 10 to 15 years for a mature experience. This is a superb wine and a great value - thanks to Carole and Dany for their great farming and traditional winemaking!
(80% Grenache with Mourvedre, Cinsault and Syrah, on Triassic clay/limestone soils, always farmed organically. Whole cluster fermentation in vat with 12 months aging in large old barrels.) The 2019 Gigondas from Clos du Joncuas has a very expressive nose. Aromas of ground coffee, black licorice, dark cherry, and amazing, dense smells of ripe violets and roses. The palate follows a vein of crushed graphite, with plump black plums, blackberries, sage, and espresso. Structurally, there are well-set tannins, balanced on the gums and the back of the tongue, and the finish is bright with salinity, plus a long lasting essence of cherry. A concentrated, well-flavored, Southern Rhone that is drinking very well now, but can be can be put flat for a decade or more. After a few hours open, the wine expands, the mouthfeel becomes more gripping and a cool, lapping minerality takes hold. Bold and delicious, a real treat! David Hatzopoulos
Clos du Joncuas 2020 Gigondas Rosé
This is a beautiful Gigondas Rosé from our organic friends at Clos du Joncuas. Pretty bright pink color (a bit lighter than the riper 2019) aromas of raspberry, tart cherry, blood orange, peach skin and rose. Full palate with silky raspberry, peach, citrus and mineral flavors and firm acidity, beatifully balanced and refreshing. Long finish with tart cherry, peach, earth, and citrusy acids. This gorgeous rosé is still young – it should open up nicely over the next two to three years. It's elegant and delicious now and very food-friendly – serve with grilled fish and white meats, salade nicoise, vegetarian dishes and Provençal foods. A great rosé to enjoy all year-round!
Clos du Joncuas 2019 Vacqueyras La Font de Papier
(Arrives 10/19) From 80% Grenache with Syrah and Mourvedre, grown on gravelly limestone terraces, always farmed organically, whole-cluster fermention and aged in concrete vats. A fabulous wine from the Southern Rhone, the 2019 La Font de Papier Vacqueyras from Clos du Joncuas displays a fine equilibrium between black fruits, tapenade, and a pungent saline soil signature. The robe straddles the border between dark ruby and purple. The nose is a bit backwards on opening, but time in the glass reveals aromas of plum skin, cassis, game, garrigue, and forest floor. The palate is warm, concentrated, and structured with black fruits, olive, and faint licorice flavors giving way to a salty core and ripe, if somewhat tannic frame. This displays good energy and freshness with fine balance and drive. Very good with pan-roasted loin of lamb and white beans, though this isn’t so structured that a grilled tuna steak with tapenade would suffer for the pairing. Delicious, though a couple of years on its side will surely be rewarded. I’ve learned that a few bottles of southern Rhône reds in the wine fridge are an investment in drinking pleasure. John McIlwain
Clos du Joncuas 2019 Séguret La Garancière Rouge
70% Grenache with Carignan, Syrah and Mourvèdre, grown in sandy soils near Gigondas, always farmed organically, hand harvested, whole-cluster wild yeast fermentation, aged in cement vat, un-fined, unfiltered. The 2019 shows a bright garnet/black color with aromas of plum and violet that segue into tart cherry and raspberry. The palate shows nice density of lovely cherry and berry fruits that are bright and lively but nicely ripe and concentrated as well. Serve cool with grilled foods this fall and winter or with a pork stew or Morrocan tagine. Delicious now but will benefit from 3 - 5 years of cellaring.
Clos du Joncuas 2020 Côtes-du-Rhône Villages Séguret Blanc
Clos du Joncuas (Domaine la Garancière) Seguret Blanc (50% Clairette, 25% Roussanne, 25% Viognier, always organically farmed, wild yeast fermentation, aged in enamel vat) Floral dried pear, apricot, hay, thyme aromas. Ripe pear, stone, caramel, lemon on the palate. A big, ripe wine with a round supple palate but with good acidity that will pair with fish stews, shellfish, pork and chicken dishes as well as full-flavored goat cheeses. An outstanding value and highly recommended. David Lillie