HAPPY 2012!

The winery has run out of magnum bottles and won’t be getting new ones for another week or two! This means our shipment has been delayed giving those of you who missed out on the outstanding 2009 Domaine du Cayron Gigondas another chance. We will be bringing any new orders to the LCBO on Friday, January 6th. Don’t miss this extra chance to get a classic Gigondas in a regular bottle, magnum or jeroboam.

As Robert Parker notes in his excellent book ‘Wines of the Rhône Valley’, “Gigondas remains one of the wine world’s great bargains. Gigondas is never a shy or subtle wine. Its appeal is its robust, frank, generous, extroverted character, in addition to its value. It is to be savoured and admired because of these virtues. Great wines from Gigondas will rival those of its neighbor Châteauneuf du Pape and the wines produced under the skillful hands of the Faraud family often do just that.”

Domaine du Cayron

Considered by many to be the benchmark producer in the appellation, (Robert Parker includes it as one of only three ‘Outstanding’ producers of the appellation) Cayron crafts a Gigondas of phenomenal richness and incredible longevity. You’d be hard-pressed to find a more terroir-expressive wine anywhere in the Southern Rhone. Furthermore, Cayron is among the most age-worthy of Gigondas, delicious upon release, but improving for well over a decade and holding strong for a long time thereafter. This 16-hectare domaine is a classic and truly top-flight estate.

Established in 1840, Domaine du Cayron is situated at the entrance of the picturesque village of Gigondas. For the past four generations, the property (including a very special plot of seventy year old gnarled Grenache) has been owned and managed by the Faraud family. Michel Faraud recently turned over the operation of his winery to the fifth generation - his three daughters Delphine, Cendrine and Roseline. They spend a great deal of time in the vineyard, restricting yields and always hand harvesting the grapes at their maximum ripeness. The wine then rests in old wood for up to a year before it is bottled. The Farauds don’t fine or filter their Gigondas and the massive amount of ripe black fruit flavors found in their wine is always tempered by a profoundly complex expression of the terroir. It is important to note that each vintage is truly unique. The wine is being made the way the Farauds want it. Their Gigondas is not manipulated to appeal to the prejudices of wine importers or writers. They don’t have to – each vintage is practically spoken for before the bottling begins.

The Wine

The Farauds have kindly agreed to ship their 2009 treasures (both standard format and magnums) in six-bottle cases. There is also a jéroboam (double magnum; 3000 ml) – one to the case.

2009 Domaine du Cayron Gigondas – (14.5% Alc. by Vol.)                     $38/$228 - 6 btl. case
                                                $90/magnum * - $540 - 6 magnum case
                                                $180/jéroboam * – 1 jéroboam per case

This classic Gigondas was crafted from70% Grenache, 15% Cinsault, 14% Syrah and 1% Mourvèdre. The yield was a most miserly seventeen hl/ha and came from vines averaging more than forty years of age. The grapes were hand harvested and were not destemmed. The cap was punched down daily during the alcoholic fermentation and the wine was neither fined nor filtered. The finished wine rested in old oak tanks for between six and twelve months.

The excellent 2009 vintage is a wine to lay down (it was quite closed when we tried it in late September). It is an intense, gorgeous purple colour and offers up full aromas of cherries, black currants, underbrush, pepper, and hints of aromatic herbs including sage and rosemary. In the mouth it is silky and elegant, very well-balanced and full with a note of minerals on the lingering finish. After a year or two in the cellar it will go wonderfully with magret de canard, roasts, game and most cheese.

Here is how the 2009 Cayron Gigondas was described recently in ‘The Rhone Report’: “The 2009 Domaine du Cayron Gigondas is a traditionally styled, beautiful Gigondas. It delivers a brilliant, old-school bouquet of garrigue, underbrush, potpourri, ground pepper, and kirsch on the nose. Perfumed, intense, and loaded with character, this medium to full-bodied Gigondas shows serious purity of fruit, juicy acidity, and a tannic, long finish. I’m a fan. This should benefit from 2-3 of bottle age, and have 10-12 years of prime drinking. Rating (91+ pts.)”

Note: the prices include a $1.00 per bottle handling fee.

Please pass this note on to anyone else you think might be interested in some superb, classic Gigondas from a storied southern Rhône estate.

Coming soon from Arthur’s Cellar
We had planned to offer the terrific Barbera d’Asti from Poderi Rosso Giovanni next, but the winery has run out of one of our favourites and won’t be bottling the next vintage for another couple of months. We will wait for it. Also we have had to delay the lovely biodynamic wines from Château Romanin until we can clarify what the LCBO requires in the way of biodynamic certification (Canada recently changed its related definitions throwing international agreements into total disarray). So, next will be the wonderful 2009 Châteauneuf du Pape from Domaine Giuliani along with their superb 2010 Côtes du Rhône Les Notes de Louis.

Have an astonishing 2012!

Many thanks and cheers,

Jim & Hélène
jaswalker@arthursellers.com
hbuisson@ofrance.ca
www.arthursellers.com