94/96

Always a unique wine to taste from Gigondas given that it’s all Syrah, the 2019 Gigondas Les Routes is easily the deepest hued release in the lineup and it offers a Crozes Hermitage like bouquet of gamey blue and black fruits, cured beef, flowers, white pepper, and bouquet garni. Rich, full-bodied yet still just as graceful as a ballerina on the palate, it’s a killer Syrah that will evolve for 15 years or more.

94 point

Saturated ruby. There are powerful spice-tinged black and blue fruits, incense and candied violet aromas on the nose. Sweet and chewy on the palate, juicy blackberry, boysenberry, smoky bacon and black pepper flavors slowly deepen through the back half. Well-concentrated and broad in style, finishing with dusty tannins, an echo of juicy dark fruit and strong tenacity.

Produced from 100% Syrah, the wine is loaded with all the smoky, peppery, black cherries, plums, spice-box, smoke, tobacco, and jam you could ask for. Full-bodied, wild, aromatic, and a bit leafy, with a salty touch in the fruit-filled end-note, this will be better with a bit of aging.