Gonnet Cotes du Rhone Rouge Le Reveur 2023

This wine needs little introduction but for the uninitiated this is the top selling wine at TWM for the past seven years. Ever since my first meeting with importer Craig Baker, I have been enthusiastic about the wines from Guillaume Gonnet. Of course it makes sense, as I was also an enormous fan of his father’s wines under the label Font de Vent, which was an Explorer Club feature in January 2011. Guillaume and his wife, Kelly, established Guillaume Gonnet in 2006 after working at wineries around the world. In fact, Kelly is from Australia, and they met during Guillaume’s stint down under. They began their domaine by buying parcels in several appellations within the Southern Rhone Valley, searching for unique, old vine parcels that are expressive of the terroir where they are grown. Then, a few years ago, he assumed the reins of the family estate in Chateauneuf-du-Pape, called Font du Michelle. Now he is a juggernaut in the region, producing a dizzying number of wines, all in small quantities, that offer a microscopic view of the unique terroirs of the area.

To produce this Côtes du Rhone, they farm a vineyard near the village of Domazan, which is a 30 minute drive west of Avignon. Both Guillaume and Kelly believe very strongly in organic viticulture, which they feel also accentuates the terroir characteristics in the wine.  This site is about 50 acres, and the vines are 40 to 45 years old. All of the work is done by hand, including harvest. The grapes are destemmed and fermented in concrete tanks for 15 to 20 days. Once dry, the wine is racked to another concrete tank where it rests for 12 months, then is bottled. The blend for this wine is 80% Grenache and 20% Syrah.

You will want to decant this wine for a half-hour before serving, and even cool it down to 60-65 degrees if possible. Once you do, it will show you a tighter, and more mineral-driven side of Côtes du Rhone than the norm. The bouquet is a red-fruit dominated combination of freeze-dried strawberries, fresh pomegranate seeds, dried red plums, white peppercorn and herbs de Provence. The feel on the palate, is also not your typical, jammy CDR. It is surprisingly chiseled and precise, with good length and nice balance. Although good now, this wine will improve for the next two to three years. Serve with chicken thighs braised in red wine with mushrooms, or smoked pork shoulder.