2018 Gigondas Cuvee de la Tour Sarrazine

Deep vivid red. Highly perfumed raspberry, boysenberry and floral aromas pick up a spicy accent with air. Juicy, sweet and seamless in texture, offering concentrated red berry, spicecake and lavender flavors that turn livelier as the wine opens up. The spice and floral notes drive a very long, focused finish that features silky tannins and a subtle echo of candied red fruits.

70% Grenache, 15% Mourvèdre, 15% Syrah. Aged for 24 months in concrete and stainless steel. Tank sample. Tasted blind. Reductive nose that gives an acrid, chemical aroma. The palate has much riper red fruit with firm tannins and good length. The awkwardness of the nose will hopefully resolve once bottled. (RH)

Moving to the 2018s, the 2018 Gigondas La Tour Sarrasine offers a forward, sweetly fruited, incredibly charming style as well as classy notes of black cherries, black raspberries, scorched earth and garrigue. It’s medium-bodied, has plenty of ripe tannins, and I suspect is going to be an outstanding wine.