2000 Gigondas Les Hautes Garriges Cuvee Prestige

Savory and masculine, with the textbook Gigondas rusticity (which I believe is less prevalent in recent vintages), the 2000 Domaine Santa Duc Gigondas Prestige des Hautes Garrigues is an old vine blend of mostly Grenache, but with small amounts of Mourvedre and Syrah, that’s aged for two-years in barrel. It sports a deep red color to go with aromas of black plums, smoked mesquite, roasted Provencal herbs, licorice, and truffle like qualities on the nose. The oak aging shows here, yet at this point, it’s well integrated into the fruit and texture of wine and certainly, there’s no overt oak on either the nose or palate. In addition, there is also plenty of substance and concentration here to suggest it might very well completely integrate over the coming 3-4 years. Full-bodied, deep, and with a slightly rustic, yet mouth filling and substantial texture, this is drinking well now with a short decant, yet should continue to evolve gracefully for another 5-8 years. I would not bank on it getting any better, but it should hold for quite some time.