Santa Duc, Gigondas (Rhône Valley, France) 2012

An ultra-serious Gigondas that shows very deep color and excellent concentration.  Despite these impressive attributes and a serious dose of new oak, there’s no hint of over-ripeness, over-extraction, or over-oaking, and the wine really comes off as wonderfully balanced and proportional.  Blended from 65% Grenache and 35% Mourvèdre, this is faintly earthy but definitely clean and free of any taint of brettanomyces.  Although it is very expressive and full of character, all of its most notable aspects stem directly from superb fruit material.