We hate to start an offer with sad news, but then again, Philippe Cambie is no ordinary winemaker to lose. His void in the wine world will be IMPOSSIBLE to fill, ad every bottle he put his magic town will live on to expand his influence almost immortally.

Today, we commemorate and celebrate a life larger than life with a wine of his that’s equally so.

No matter what project he took on, Cambie effortlessly and consistently hit BIG. Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate zooms in on this Domaine “run by the Jeaune Family, with consulting advice from Philippe Cambie, the wines of Grand Tinel always lead with fruit and possess beautiful and classic Southern Rhône characters.” Classic indeed. Leave it to us to take the $75 retail price and beat it all the way down to an outrageous $37. That’s more than HALF OFF a benchmark CdP.

Philippe Cambie was the only consulting winemaker in France that we knew of who can, if he sees a fit for his craft, instantly transform a winery into a high-scoring machine. His track record includes Clos Saint Jean in the South of France to Jamet in the North, along with his California partnership with Manfred Krankl of Sine Qua Non!

Inky and opaque almost all the way to a glowing ruby edge. The aromatics come forth with a gorgeous basket of wild berries, black pepper, and graphite. Explosively rich, exquisitely fresh, balanced and well-poised on the palate, and lively and long as can be on the finish, with big, borderline chewy tannins. The best pairing idea we could come up with is coq au vin, but you should ideally have one bottle on hand to braise, and another to sip with, as the man behind this tour de force would.

A tragic loss, we bid our farewell to Philippe Cambie, with utmost respect and admiration, we raise our glasses, may all your great wines continue to create lifelong memories for wine lovers…

This Wine Spies exclusive won’t linger long as there wasn’t enough imported to begin with.

94 Points – Wine Enthusiast

“A 60-40 blend of Grenache and Syrah, this profoundly ripe, concentrated red packs layers of black cherry and boysenberry fruit into silken, sultry sips. It’s juicy and primary but accented by hints of earth, leather and clove, too. Fine-grained, well-integrated tannins make it approachable already, but it’s a wine that should improve through 2037.”