2018 Gigondas Les Routes Domaine des Bosquets

All old vine Syrah (from a selection called Serine), the 2018 Gigondas Les Routes is certainly the deepest hued release in the lineup and it offers an exotic, complex bouquet of blueberry and smoked black cherry fruits interwoven with notes of new saddle leather, smoked game, bay leaf, and peppery herbs. Beautifully balanced, full-bodied, and elegant on the palate, it's a singular Gigondas that has a terrific sense of freshness, silky tannins, and a great finish. Drink it anytime over the coming decade or more.

Vivid purple. Deeply pitched aromas of cassis, blackberry, candied licorice and violet are complicated by suggestions of olive paste, incense and smoky minerals. Smooth and seamless in texture, offering impressively concentrated black/blue fruit preserve and floral pastille flavors and a sexy spicecake flourish. Becomes sweeter and more lively with air. Finishes extremely long and precise, with slow-building, polished tannins adding grip to the long, sappy, floral-driven finish.

Ripe and seductive, offering up a range of aromatic blueberry, raspberry and blackberry compote notes laced with energetic anise, fruitcake and fresh garrigue. The long, juicy finish pulls everything together nicely, with a hint of tar chiming in. Best from 2022 through 2034. -J.M.

The small-berried Serine (Syrah) vines that are the base of the 2018 Gigondas Les Routes are said to originate from Gerard Chave via Jacques Reyaud's Château de Fonsalette. Even without that information, it's possible to discern some smoky, bacony scents on the nose, backed by silky layers of cherry fruit and a pinch of peppery spice. In this vintage, the medium to full-bodied wine isn't a blockbuster but exudes elegance and finesse, with immediate drinkability and a long, finely textured finish.