Domaine Giraud - Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Grenaches de Pierre 2020 (750ml)
Price: $145.00
Sale Price: $125.00
| Producer | Domaine Giraud |
| Country | France |
| Region | Rhone |
| Subregion | Chateauneuf du Pape |
| Varietal | Grenache |
| Vintage | 2020 |
| Sku | 1416106 |
| Size | 750ml |
Just to the west of town, this Domaine has since 1998 been under the stewardship of brother and sister team of Marie and Francois Giraud, whose lineage in winemaking on their father’s side stretches back six centuries. Their parents, Pierre and Mireille had started in 1974 as tenant farmers and gradually built up holdings of their own. The first bottled wine from the estate was produced from vintage 1981 after Marie’s family distillery was converted into a winemaking facility.
The estate – totaling 35 hectares - has extraordinarily well-situated vineyards of mostly old vines on the plateau of le Crau, Gallimarde and in the Pignan region. The Gallimarde parcel is particularly cherished, being a continuous block of 8 hectares planted with century old Grenache and Mourvèdre, in addition to some younger Syrah vines planted on soils richer in clay. The rest of the estate is spread across various parcels over the northern parts of the appellation.
The estate has been organic since 2011. Fermentation is in stainless steel and concrete tanks. Grenache and Mourvedre go into concrete tanks for aging, but the Syrah goes into French oak.
The cuvee Tradition is made up mostly of Grenache. The Les Gallimardes rouge cuvee is from an old parcel in the south that has long been owned by the estate planted to 100 year old Grenache and some Syrah, with several white varieties, planted on clay limestone soils, with each variety being vinified separately. Covered in galets, this soil gives a typically authentic Chateauneuf of power and concentration. The Les Grenaches des Pierre bottling comes from very old Grenache planted in sandy soils on le Crau and in Pignan. The wine is a homage to their father Pierre. The wine combines power and finesse.
Falstaff: 97 Points
Strong crimson, purple reflections, ochre brightening on the rim. Delicate tobacco and dried herbs, red wild berries, sour cherries, some liquorice and candied orange zest. Juicy, silky and delicate, ripe, velvety tannins, sweet berry fruit, pure Grenache from austere sandy terroirs in La Crau and Pignan. Complex and lasting on the finish, accessible, certain ageing potential. Has freshness and enormous charm.
Jeb Dunnuck: 96 Points
The star of the show in 2020 is the 2020 Châteauneuf du Pape Grenaches De Pierre a 100% Grenache cuvée from the Pignan and La Crau lieu-dits. One of the top wines in the vintage it sports a translucent ruby/purple color as well as incredible aromatics of cassis black raspberries white truffle flowery incense and hints of bouque
Wine Spectator: 96 Points
Everything's in perfect harmony in this floral stunning red. Offers plum cherry cobbler incense and lavender supported by a line of racy minerality savory earth notes and cooling mouthwatering acidity. This has real energy driving the length with black tea and potpourri accents all seamlessly adding layers. Stunning. Best from 2025 through 2040. ?K.B.
Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider: 96 Points
One of the wines of the vintage here you find black raspberries spice box flowers and red fruits on the nose. Lusciously-textured with silky fresh pure kirsch that comes in layers and a long refined yet rich finish that offers depth and purity and just a hint of chocolate mint on the backend of the finish. This beautiful wine is produced from 100% old vine Grenache. Drink from 2023-2038.
Vinous: 95 Points
Pale ruby-colored. The 2020 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Grenaches de Pierre is entirely Grenache-based. It reveals pungent aromas of raspberry liqueur cranberry wild strawberry licorice and crushed rocks. Full-bodied and layered the tannins are more refined compared to the Tradition and Les Galimardes undermining the wine?s impeccable balance. It ends with a long finish and should provide ample drinking pleasure over the next 20 years. - By Nicolas Greinacher on April 2023
Wine Advocate: 95 Points
Drawn from old-vine Grenache in the sandy soils of Pignan Charbonnière and Mourre de Gaud the 2020 Chateauneuf du Pape Grenaches de Pierre features veritable bushels of black cherries plus complex notes of garrigue and pine needles. Ripe full-bodied and supple with an almost creamy texture and ample freshness on the long finish this is a very impressive effort. Despite the trials of the 2021 vintage Marie Giraud graciously sidestepped among the various hoses to bring forth tank samples of her family's various 2020s as well as pour the bottled 2019s. For 2021 quantities will be down substantially as half of their vines were damaged by frost including the Les Gallimardes parcel planted in 1903 "places where my 92-year-old grandmother had never seen that [frost damage]" said Marie. "We had some rain and the skins are very fragile" she continued. I suppose the takeaway is that fans of this estate will want to focus on the terrific lineup of wines from 2019 and 2020. The luxury cuvées?Les Gallimardes and Grenache de Pierre?garner the most attention from collectors but this domaine also makes an attractive bargain-priced Vin de France from a sandy site near the Rhône the Lirac is exceptional and can be found for less than $20 and even the regular bottling of Chateauneuf-du-Pape is a reasonable value at around $50. In short there's a lot to like about this family-run domaine where the emphasis is on farming and relatively simple unadorned winemaking. Published: Sep 29 2023
Vinous Media
Pale ruby-colored. The 2020 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Grenaches de Pierre is entirely Grenache-based. It reveals pungent aromas of raspberry liqueur, cranberry, wild strawberry, licorice, and crushed rocks. Full-bodied and layered, the tannins are more refined compared to the Tradition and Les Galimardes, undermining the wine’s impeccable balance. It ends with a long finish and should provide ample drinking pleasure over the next 20 years.
- By Nicolas Greinacher on April 2023
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