Inky violet color. Rich and ripe on the nose, with powerful scents of cassis, blackberry, violet and bitter chocolate. Large-scaled and round, with lush dark berry flavors and a compelling sweetness that builds with air. Closes on notes of dark berries and mocha. This possesses wonderful extract, and the fruit is pure and focused.

The 2004 Gigondas Valbelle is a big, rich, blend of 80% Grenache and 20% Syrah. This wine has a sweet nose of licorice, tar, peppery roasted meats, blackberries, and cherries. It is smoky, rich, and impressively endowed. I would drink it over the next decade.

The 2004 Gigondas Valbelle is a smoking blend of 90% Grenache and 10% Syrah that comes from an old-vine selection of different terroirs. Aged 50% in new barrels and 50% in one-year-old barrels, this medium to full-bodied blend offers plenty of structure and chewy tannin to go with fabulous aromas and flavors of spiced meats, smoke, graphite and sweet blackberry-styled fruit. One of the younger wines in this report, it will continue to drink nicely through 2021.

Mid crimson. Big round and bloody – more of a big fruity wine than a Gigondas specifically. Some oak. Flattering but more because of the lightly smoked oak than the fruit, I fear. Nice lift though. Very nice wine but without a particularly strong Gigondas imprint. (JR)