Le Domaine Montirius Terre des Aînés Gigondas 2016

The 2016 Gigondas Terres des Aines is 80% Grenache and 20% Mourvèdre that's super ripe but stays lively and fresh. Garrigue notes help with that, adding lift to the brandied black cherries and stone fruit. Full-bodied, creamy and supple, it's huge but graceful, lingering elegantly on the finish. It should drink well for a decade. (Joe Czerwinski)

Gentle, fresh earth aromas lurk behind blackberry and blueberry fruit. It's full and flowing with that characteristic purity and glossy smoothness that's Montirius' calling card. A long, flowing finish, very well balanced and landing neatly. Drinking Window 2020-2030. (Matt Walls)

Deep and complex nose of Mediterranean herbs that’s remarkably fresh for more than 5 years old. I love the imposing tannin structure that is so well proportioned that it doesn’t dominate at any point on the palate. Plenty of cool, herbal character at the long finish, but also a hint of warmth from alcohol. A blend of grenache with some mourvedre. Vegan. Drink or hold.

The same blend, the 2016 Gigondas Terre Des Aines is more opulent and sexier, with lots of blackberry fruit, peppery herbs, earth, and spice aromas and flavors. It's ripe, rounded, and beautifully textured on the palate, with the purity of fruit that's the hallmark of this great vintage.

Bouquet expressif et séducteur, exhalant le pruneau à l’eau-de-vie, la bouche offre une délicate finesse et une belle complexité notamment sur des parfums de cire. Les beaux tannins s’affirment et la finale soutenue se conclue par de subtiles touches de fruits noirs sur la rétro. Grosse bouteille !