Domaine Giraud Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2017 & 2018

"Unquestionably one of my favorite estates in France"
— Jeb Dunnuck

This estate has been run flawlessly by Marie Giraud for more than a decade now and the estate is consistently in the top handful of domaines in each vintage. She has produced some of the wines of the vintage in 2017. They have terrific depth and richness as well as considerable elegance. They’re not far off the magical 2016s and will evolve gracefully. If you don’t know about Domaine Giraud, you’re missing out.
— Jeb Dunnuck

Domaine Giraud
Under the inspired leadership of Marie Giraud, with assistance from consultant Philippe Cambie, this estate has quickly risen into the tiny handful of top estates in Châteauneuf du Pape. The style here incorporates a mix of traditional and progressive techniques, and while the Grenache is always kept in concrete tanks, they utilized smaller barrels for their Syrah.

The Girauds now proudly own land in two of the appellation’s most highly regarded lieu-dits, La Crau and Les Gallimardes, with the vines in those parcels now past a century of age. Brilliant oenologist, Philippe Cambie, has completely resurrected this estate, where he is now turning out some of the most extraordinary wines of the appellation, with the old vine Les Grenaches de Pierre an outstanding clone of Rayas. That's not surprising in view of the fact that it comes from the pure sandy soils near Rayas.