The Still & The VineSchool of Wine & Spirits
Domaine du Cayron Gigondas 2020
Red WineIssue 60

Domaine du Cayron Gigondas 2020

Domaine du Cayron

$382020 VintageGigondas, Rhône Valley, France
The Faravel family has worked these Gigondas vineyards by hand for generations, and their refusal to modernize yields a wine that tastes like the hillside itself. The 2020 vintage shows ripe, generous fruit tempered by the Dentelles de Montmirail's limestone influence. This is old-school Southern Rhône at its most honest.

Kit Aromas

Tasting Notes

Nose

Ripe black cherry and crushed violets rise first, followed by dried garrigue herbs and a gentle meatiness. Behind the fruit sits a rocky, stony minerality and a hint of black pepper.

Palate

Full and generous, with dark berry fruit coating the mouth before firm tannins and a cedar-laced structure emerge. There is a wild, almost gamey quality underneath the fruit — lavender and thyme hovering at the edges — giving this wine a sense of place that is unmistakable.

Finish

Long and earthy, with cherry, cedar, and a fading floral note that lingers beautifully.

Specifications
Varietal
Grenache
Blend
Grenache (approximately 70%), Syrah, Mourvèdre, Cinsault
Vineyards
Estate vineyards in Gigondas AOC, limestone and clay soils at the foot of the Dentelles de Montmirail
Alcohol
14.5%
Organic / Biodynamic
No
Serve & Pair

Food Pairing

Slow-braised lamb shoulder with herbes de Provence and roasted root vegetables

The Story

The Faravel family has tended their Gigondas vines at the foot of the Dentelles de Montmirail since the 1840s, farming by hand without irrigation and vinifying in concrete tanks with native yeasts.

Train These Aromas
Comments

Be the first to comment.

Leave a comment

0 / 4,000

First-time comments are reviewed before appearing. Be kind, be specific, no spam.

More Red Wine Reviews
Bourgogne Rouge, Domaine de Montille
Red Wine

Bourgogne Rouge, Domaine de Montille

Domaine de Montille

Domaine de Montille's Bourgogne Rouge is a masterclass in what restraint can achieve at the regional level — no excess, no artifice, just transparent Pinot Noir from one of Burgundy's most principled estates. It embodies the theme of clarity through constraint: a wine that finds its beauty in what it withholds rather than what it offers. An essential benchmark for understanding why less, in Burgundy, is always more.

$33
Nerello Mascalese Vigne Vecchie
Red Wine

Nerello Mascalese Vigne Vecchie

Calabretta

Calabretta's old-vine Nerello Mascalese is a masterclass in how air and altitude sculpt a wine—vineyards perched high on Etna's slopes channel wind and volcanic breath into the glass. This is traditional Etna winemaking at its most soulful: no shortcuts, no polish, just pure terroir captured by a family that has farmed the same contrada for generations. A hauntingly beautiful wine that rewards patience and contemplation.

$43
Perrin Cotes du Rhone Reserve Rouge 2022
Red Wine

Perrin Cotes du Rhone Reserve Rouge 2022

Perrin

The Perrin family's Réserve Rouge remains one of the Rhône's most reliable everyday reds, delivering genuine terroir character at a fraction of the cost of their Châteauneuf-du-Pape holdings. It captures the warmth of a late November harvest—generous, grounding, and quietly soulful. A wine that pairs as well with weeknight suppers as it does with the season's final fireside gatherings.

$14
Domaine Gramenon Côtes du Rhône La Sagesse 2022
Red Wine

Domaine Gramenon Côtes du Rhône La Sagesse 2022

Domaine Gramenon

La Sagesse means 'wisdom,' and this bottling from very old Grenache vines is aptly named. Michèle Aubéry-Laurent farms biodynamically and vinifies with minimal intervention — native yeast, no added sulfur, no fining or filtration. This is transparency in a bottle: terroir, vine age, and vintage, nothing hidden.

$30