Château du Trignon Gigondas Red 2015, Rhone Valley, France

The wine estate of Château du Trignon was acquired in 1895 by Joseph Roux and run by his descendants until 2007, when Pascal Roux, a passionate winemaker, who had kept the quality of the wine at the highest levels, sold the vineyard to another esteemed Rhone Valley winemaker, Jerome Quiot , who also owned Domaine du Vieux Lazaret in Châteauneuf du Pape and Domaine Houchart in Provence. The Gigondas is from 3 terroirs: Soft clay and limestone, alluvium with shattered stones, and sapphire glass and sandstone. Winemaking: Partial de-stemming. Vatting time: 3-4 weeks. MLF and maturing in oak for a portion of this time. Grape varieties: Cinsault, Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Syrah. Tasting notes: The nose is fruity, gourmand, relatively full and offers a slight freshness. It reveals notes of plum cream and crushed boysenberry associated with slight hints of black cherry, liquorice, as well as a discreet hint of toasted oak/chocolate hint and a very discreet hint of thyme (after aeration on the glass). The palate is fruity, mineral, tight, fresh, sleek and offers a slight tension, a slight suavity as well as fat. In the mouth this wine expresses notes of plum, crushed blackberry, black cherry and slight notes of chocolate associated with a discreet hint of clove. Tannins are well-built. Good length. There are slight touches of dark chocolate on the persistence.