Domaine St Damien Gigondas Les Souteyrades 2019
St. Damien was an Early Christian saint (martyred in the year 287 A.D.), considered the patron saint of doctors. There was a chapel to his honour in the tiny hamlet of La Baumette, just outside the village of Gigondas, where Joel Saurel, the owner of the domaine, lives. Joel Saurel's ancestors thus took the name Saint Damien for the domaine. La Baumette is the hot corner of the Gigondas appellation great exposures, galets roulees like Chateauneuf. Some of the oldest vines of the appellation are in this area, and Joel Saurel owns a good proportion of them that are over 100 years old.
Vinification
Long 6 week fermention in concrete vats. Ageing 12 months in oak barrels. Bottled without any fining or filtration.
Viticulture
Tasting Note
Domaine St Damien Gigondas Les Souteyrades is exotic and alluring with incense and warm fig cake aromas that then meld into warm bittersweet chocolate, blackberry confiture, and dark coffee aromas. Fine-grained and long on the finish.
Country / Region / Appellation
FR / Rhone / Gigondas AOC
Winemaker
Joel Saurel
Additional Resources:
http://www.domainesaintdamien.com/