Gigondas Clovis Saurel Domaine St Damien 2016 (750ML)

Clovis Saurel, founder of Domaine St Damien, gives his name to the estate's all-Grenache Gigondas, and the 2016 honors him well. The whole cuvée was raised in new demi-muids, which frame the fruit with vanilla and sweet spice. Deep crimson and heady, it offers kirsch, black raspberry and strawberry preserves on the nose, laced with wild herbs, lavender and a streak of licorice. The palate is wide and juicy, packed with dark cherry, boysenberry and cola, and air coaxes out a riper, rounder side. For all its weight it never turns heavy-handed. The tannins are ripe and fine-grained, and cherry and crushed-flower notes linger well after the swallow. Critics find it drinking now and holding into the mid-2030s. It wants slow-cooked fare: Provençal daube, braised lamb shanks or a tray of roasted wild mushrooms.