Gigondas: Domaine Santa Duc, one of the appellation’s star producers
Website: https://www.santaduc.fr/en/
Benjamin Gras hosted me at Santa Duc, which is located on the higher plain of Gigondas at 150 m. This is the lowest part of Gigondas, and Benjamin compared this with Châteauneuf-du-Pape (where they also have vineyards), where 150 m is the highest point. Prior to 1870 this was an area of small oak trees and Provençale herbs, but the municipality decided to sell the land in a candle auction after dividing it into plots. The Gras family bought one plot and their first building was put up in 1974. Each generation has added to the mas.
Gigondas used to have a lot of olive trees before the big frost in 1956, after which the switch was made to vineyards.
Their farm here, Combe des Fonts des Papes, has colluvial soil. It’s sandy red clay with small limestone pebbles, which originally came from Les Dentelles, which can be seen in the distance. The water goes through this layer and then can’t penetrate the blue clay beneath. It’s an interesting soil for Grenache and Mourvèdre, and there’s a plot of Mourvèdre here that’s 80 years old.
Santa Duc has lots of Mourvèdre. ‘My dad and grandfather planted a lot of it,’ says Benjamin. ‘It was a difficult variety to ripen, but now it’s more interesting than Syrah.’ They have also overgrafted some Syrah to Counoise.
Santa Duc have 13 hectares of vines in Gigondasm plus 6 in Châteauneuf and 2 in Vacqueyras. They also have smaller plots in Seguret. Benjamin took over in 2016, and 2017 was his first vintage.
The compost heap is impressive. It’s made with a combination of vegetation from road cuttings with cow manure from a herd of Waygu beef in Montpellier.
The winery is worked using gravity flow, and a series of trolleys and winches move the grapes, whether they are whole clusters or destemmed. Whole bunches are frequently used but in 2018 everything was destemmed because of the high mildew pressure. The tanks, maximum size 6 tons, are loaded and then chilled down to 18 C for wild yeast fermentation. 30 ppm sulfites are added at reception. Much of the fermentation takes place inside the intact berries and vatting is for 2-3 weeks. The press juice is always combines with free run juice to keep the yeasts going, because at pressing there is usually 10 g/l of sugar left to ferment. ‘I don’t like to do ageing on the lees,’ says Benjamin. ‘I want to make fresh, balanced wines.’ He says that the tendency to age on lees is coming from the north where they need to add some fat to the wines.
He just works with pumping over and not punch downs, because he doesn’t want to over-extract. It homogenizes temperature and sugar inside the vat, and he does it twice a day. ‘High temperature and alcohol extracts rough tannins,’ he says. He tries to keep fermentation temperature below 25 C. ‘Whole bunch releases sugar step by step.’
Blending is done before elevage and ageing. ‘This is important to me.’
He has quite a lot of terracotta in the cellar and prefers Arte Nova, the Italian manufacturer that uses natural clay. ‘You can’t use a mould for natural clay,’ says Benjamin, ‘so it must be made by hand.’ Tava, another manufacturer, has things added to the clay so it can be moulded.
THE WINES
Domaine Santa Duc Gigondas Blanc 2023
This was the first harvest from overgrafted vineyards high up in the village. Marl-rich soils. There was just one barrel made, and the blend is 90% Clairette, 10% Bourboulenc co-fermented, with a slow 5 h press cycle. Lovely aromatics here: crystalline citrus fruit with lovely aromatics and notes of almond and fine spices. Delicate, refined and mineral with great precision and some fennel notes on the finish. 94/100
Domaine Santa Duc Côtes du Rhône Blanc Serre du Rieu 2023
From the sandy soils of Roix. Fresh and linear with great precision. Stony and detailed with freshness and a slight saltiness. Linear and sharp with lemons and pears. 93/100
Domaine Santa Duc Gigondas Aux Lieux Dits 2022 (cask sample)
8 plots blended together, 80% Grenache, 10% Mourvèdre, 5% Cinsault, 5% Syrah. 75% whole bunch. Very fresh and linear. Bright with nice cherry and berry fruits. Lovely focus here: juicy and linear with nice tannins and good balance. Really fine. 94/100
Domaine Santa Duc Gigondas Clos Derrière Vieille 2022
100% Grenache from 300 m, on cretaceous clay/marl which retains water well. Juicy and bright with nice acidity. Shows lovely freshness and focus with brightness and a chalky texture on the palate. Such finesse with a core of sweet fruit as well as good structure. So fine. 95/100
Domaine Santa Duc Gigondas Les Haut Garrigues 2022
Half Grenache, half Mourvèdre. Lively, bright and vivid with cherry and raspberry fruit, and also some blackberry with a fresh, vivid, spicy edge. Peppery and bright with lovely herbal hints and some liquorice and garrigue notes. Has a salty finish. 95/100
Domaine Santa Duc Châteauneuf-du-Pape Habemus Papam 2022
This is a blend of 60% Grenache and 40% Syrah from two lieu dits, matured in a mix of foudres and amphora. Bright with nice intensity to the sweet berries and cherries. Great concentration and freshness here with a rounded texture and hints of pepper and bacon. 94/100
Domaine Santa Duc Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau Ouest 2022
100 year old Grenache. Lots of sand in the soils, and this is aged solely in amphora. Reductive, taut and fine with red cherry fruit showing wonderful perfume. Beautifully expressive red cherries with some silkiness and a bit of spicy bite. Subtle peppery notes. This has amazing precision. 96/100
Domaine Santa Duc Gigondas Clos Derrière Vieille 2021
This was the first year that this wine was 100% Grenache. 100% whole bunch. Lovely sweet aromatics with ripe fruit and some green hints. Perfumed. The palate has a sweet red fruits core with red cherries and raspberries, and also a bit of pepper and olive. Fine, with a silky edge and a sense of finesse. 95/100
Domaine Santa Duc Gigondas Clos Derrière Vieille 2017
Debut vintage of this cuvée, 80% Grenache with the balance Syrah and Mourvèdre. 75% whole bunch. Very fine and expressive with lovely sweet cherry and plum fruit with some dried herbs. Fresh and focused with nice grip, showing lovely elegance. 94/100
Domaine Santa Duc Gigondas Les Haut Garrigues 2018
100% destemmed because of the mildew pressure that year. Comple nose of sweet red berries and pepper with some garrigue notes. Fresh palate with a hint of mint and some dried herbs, as well as pleasant pepper notes. Vivid and grippy with nice complexity and depth, finishing grippy – the Mourvèdre is doing its job. 94/100
DOMAINE SANTA DUC
157 Chem. des Hautes Garrigues, 84190 Gigondas
04 90 65 84 49
