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What We Say 2006 Selection Camille Cayran Gigondas AOC
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Today’s selection from France’s southern Rhone is only available in the United States through The Wine Spies. If you’re a fan of these great wines, then be sure to place your order early. Our allocation is very limited.
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Mission Codename: Growing History
Operative: Agent White
Objective: Visit the history vineyards of Cave De Cairanne and acquire some of there historic wines.
Mission Status: Ongoing…
Current Winery: Cave De Cairanne
Wine Subject: 2006 Selection Camille Cayran Gigondas AOC
Backgrounder:
The Gigondas AOC is located just across the river from the famed Chateauneuf-du-Pape appellation and adjacent to the famed villages of Lirac and Tavel. Under the watchful eye of the dramatically rugged Dentelles de Montmirail, known for its lacy look and not teeth as most visitors assume (Dentelle means lace, dents means teeth in French).
The wines of Gigondas must be made with no more than 80% Grenache, at least 15% of Syrah and Mourvedre with the remainder being no more than 10% of any local grape except Carignan. This wine is 80% Grenache, 10% Syrah and 10% Mourvedre.
Wine Spies Tasting Profile:
Look – Brilliant garnet with ruby red reflections through its deep but clear core. Along the edges, the color remains a deep ruby red. When swirled, this springy wine leaves medium legs of varying speeds along the edge of the glass.
Smell – Medium in intensity with perfumed aromatics of fresh red fruit layered over exotic spice, fresh floral notes, earthy minerality a touch of oak and mocha and hints of mild black licorice.
Feel – This medium-to-full bodied dry wine has a smooth and rich feel with firm textured tannins that spreads across the palate and is complimented by good acidity, minerality and a spicy lick that hits the tip of the tongue that lingers into the finish.
Taste – Rich and fresh flavors of red fruit, including red raspberry, strawberry and red cherry that are well integrated with classic old-world Terroir driven earthy and spicy flavors. Mild toasted oak, black licorice, black olive and some pepper emerge as you explore this wine’s flavors.
Finish – Clean with a medium long with lingering minerality and textured tannins that hold the fresh fruit and classic old-world flavors and invite sip after sip.
Conclusion – If you are a fan of old-world Chateauneuf-du-Pape, you owe it to yourself to try this classic wine whose Grenache fruit really shines. The 2006 Cairanne Selection Camille Cayran Gigondas shows nice balance between its fruit and old-world Terroir driven flavors. Give this wine some time to open up and you’ll find a wine that is perfect for pairing with the richest of sheep’s, goat’s and other ripe cheeses, charcuterie, and pâté.
Mission Report:
The Wine Spies are always excited when our assets bring us exclusive wines (today’s selection is only available at retail through The Wine Spies) of character and distinction, especially when they are from regions and Terroirs that have real history.
The Gigondas AOC, often overlooked by its neighbor Chateauneuf-du-Pape is just one of those places. While we love Chateauneuf-du-Pape, we find that the wines from Gigondas, while having similar flavors are not as intense on the palate. That’s not to say that these wines lack focus, quite the contrary. These wines are approachable and fun but also show classic aromas and flavors that we love so much.
Be on the lookout for a few other wines from Cave de Cairanne as we were impressed with their whole line up.
Wine Spies Vineyard Check:
The location of the the Gigondas AOC in France’s southern Rhone can be seen in this satellite photo.
What the Winery Says
Cave De Cairanne
About This Wine:
Gigondas wines are often full-bodied and muscular. A modern wine making enables us to add here smoothness and aromatic expression.
A beautiful and shining red wine with a deep purple colour intensity. The nose is intense on liquorice, jammy strawberries and black cherries, black olives. The palate is full bodied, with soft and long tannins.
Origin: On the East bank of the Rhône river, backing against the first foothills of the Alps, the vineyard of Gigondas, sheltered by the famous Dentelles de Montmirail, overlook the whole valley. The soils are made of stony red clay alluvium and sometimes of falls from the Dentelles.
Best served at: 17° C.
Food matches: Duck parmentier, lamb ribs, games and saucy meats.
Laying down: 5-10 years.
About The Winery:
The roots of a cellar, a winegrowing history:
1929, 3 pioneers founded the Cave de Cairanne, mandated by 120 other winegrowers to produce and promote high quality wine, indeed meriting an appellation of origin. The building was not yet completed when the cellars of a capacity of 20,000 hl received their first harvest.
1937, the frosts of 1936, which decimated olive trees in the region, accelerated the development of vine culture. Cairanne wines were recognized Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée Côtes du Rhône. 1959, the vineyard was expanded over scrubland, and mechanization ensured the development of the Cave, that opened its first Côtes du Rhône wine tasting cellar.
1967-87, growth continued. The 81,000 ha capacity vathouse and the quality of production were rewarded with the formalization of the Côtes du Rhônes villages appellation, accepted since 1953. The cave expanded: sales, bottling, buried vats, new equipment, cuvées de prestige , creation of the quality club.
1998, a new vathouse designed with even greater respect for the Terroir and grapes was added, for vinification with punching of the cap and délestage (rack and return).
Three Legendary Terroirs: A rocky peak dominating the Orange plain, watered by the Aygues, sun-drenched slopes, scrubland: Cairanne was an ideal site for viticulture.
Cairanne’s climate , is particularly suited to winegrowing: hot and dry, cleansed by the mistral, lesser quantities of chemical treatments are needed for the vines. Our goal between now and the year 2008 is to use integrated farming methods over 70% of the vineyard and 100% by the year 2013.
Vinification methods are modern without ever yielding to trends. Many of the cuvées are unfiltered. A large part of the harvest is not destemmed. Our entire Côtes du Rhône villages harvest is picked by hand. The effluents from the cave are retreated in our own treatment plant.
THE AYGUES RIVER TERRACES: Of recent formation (at geological scale), 12,000 years, they are formed from the alluvia of the river Aygues. On the surface, stones mixed with recently deposited silt ensure a sufficient water reserve until spring. The deeper layers, composed of limestone crusting and gravel, do not retain water. The winegrower’s work consists in reducing the early vegetative development to favour ripening of the fruit.
The result is fine, elegant wine, marked by red fruit.
THE GUARRIGUES (SCRUBLAND): To the south and south-east of the village, a more ancient formation (Quaternary period – 200,000 years), this Terroir is composed of ancient alluvia from the rivers Aygues and Ouvèze.
Rocks and reddish clays near the surface, stones, with deeper layers of sandy-limestone and gravel, resulting in less fertile soils, with little although regular water reserves at depth, enabling the vine to develop a good root structure. This Terroir favours the production of generous, full-bodied wine, with spice and leather aromas.
THE MOUNTAIN: The soils here are the most ancient (10 to 15 million years old), the result of successive upheavals: marine sedimentation (shells), continental sedimentation (sandy marl, lacustral clay deposits) to which are added pebbles carried along by the mountain rivers. This is a multi-faceted and truly magnificent landscape. The wines from the mountain give the assemblage, or blend, a well-constituted strength, developing Cairanne tertiary aromas.
Technical Analysis:
Varieties: 80% Grenache noir, 10% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre.
Yield: 33 hl/ha, hand harvest.
Vinification: After a full destemming, we do a cold maceration of 48 hours prior to the fermentation. A long vatting of 21 days with a careful temperature control is then organised, with regular délestage (rack and return) and daily aeration by pumping over.
Alcohol: 14.5%
Oak: This wine is unoaked.
