Côtes du Roussillon Villages, Les Millères, Domaine Gardiés 2020
Tamlyn Currin 17/20 (2023)
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Why this wine
Eight generations of one family on terraced black slate and clay-limestone at the foot of the Pyrenees, every vine certified organic and hand-picked. Half the ageing happens in concrete, which keeps the fruit clear and stops the oak taking over. 2020 was a tiny crop in Roussillon, and the wine has the concentration to show for it.
At a glance
- Grape
- Syrah 30%, Grenache Noir 30%, Mourvèdre 25%, Carignan 15%
- Region
- Roussillon, France
- Alcohol
- 13.50%
- Body
- Medium
- Acidity
- Medium
- Tannins
- Medium
- Sweetness
- Dry
- Drink
- Short (3-5 yrs)
- Pairs with
- Red Meat, Barbecue, Cheese
How it tastes
Ripe, dark-berried fruit with hints of spice, graphite underneath and a lovely freshness running through the finish. Medium-bodied and firm rather than heavy, with fine-grained tannins. Syrah 30%, Grenache Noir 30%, Mourvèdre 25%, Carignan 15%.
The producer
Domaine Gardies has been a family vineyard at the foot of the Pyrenees, in the village of Tautavel, for eight generations. Jean took over from his father in the late 1990s and now works alongside his son Victor across a 35-hectare estate spread over two terraces of clay-limestone and black slate at Vingrau and Tautavel, with a further 15 hectares at Mas Las Cabes on the Espira de l'Agly terroir, bought in 1990. All the vines are certified organic and hand-harvested; the low-yielding old Grenache and Carignan sit against the cliffs, and the Tramontane that sweeps through one day in three keeps the fruit healthy with little need for treatment. Each variety was vinified separately, macerated for two weeks in concrete to hold its varietal character and freshness, fermented with natural yeasts, then matured for twelve months, half in 600-litre French oak and half in concrete vats. 2020 brought record low volumes to Roussillon: a rainy winter, spring heat spikes that pulled bud burst forward by thirteen days, then drought and intense summer heat, yet the wines kept their elegance and freshness.
Food and drinking
Serve at 16–18°C. It suits lamb shoulder, grilled sausages, roast duck and a mature hard cheese, and will drink well over the next five to ten years. Half an hour in a decanter opens it up.