In the Rhône, Day 3: Gigondas

There is a real buzz in Gigondas, which boasts a number of fabulous estates. The region has also been helped by the arrival of the Brunier brothers from Vieux Télégraphe and the Perrins from Beaucastel.

Indeed it is the Perrin family who have added a substantial draw within Gigondas itself with the revamped restaurant l’Oustalet. Some members may remember a magnificent dinner at Merchant Taylors which featured Beaucastel and their resident chef. Well it is he who is behind l’Oustalet which has suddenly made this pretty village a destination in itself.

But then of course there was always something different in Gigondas, with its dangerously late-ripening vineyards amidst the mountains of the Dentelles de Montmirail. There are fabulous wines in both 2009 and 2010 but my pick has to be about the most traditional of all Gigondas: Domaine du Cayron.

This is the estate of Michel Ferraud and his three daughters, known to some as the three graces. Two of them are pictured (right) along with their ancient steam-powered basket press. The cellars are just off the main street before it gets lost in the village.

It is just before half term. Children are playing ball or catch a hundred yards away. A camper van is parked nearby; a couple, wide of girth and of retirement age are busy, one taking pictures of me while his partner washes underwear in a bucket placed on the road by the driver’s door. I’m of course tasting Gigondas amidst this little theatre of life.

I prefer tasting in the street as the cellars are heavy with the smells of the new vintage. I taste 2009 which we bought last year and spit into a gutter. Wonderful stuff, big and brawny but in need of some bottle age.

Then, I taste 2010 cask by cask. All confusion: “this is tank 3 but used to be foudre number 6 while this is tank 5 but also ex foudre 6.” Fine, I say; foudre 6 is what we want. 2010 is a knockout wine, about as good as Gigondas can be. The camper van has gone and the children have stopped playing, though I can hear the sounds of an English lesson going on instead. Time to move on.

Marcel Orford-Williams