Appears in
Oxford Companion to Wine

By Jancis Robinson

Published 2006

  • About

Gigondas, good-value red and rosé wine appellation in the southern rhône. From just over a third of the total area, the best wines are remarkably similar to good red châteauneuf-du-pape, with the benefit of higher elevations and more limestone. Overall wine standards are high, even if Gigondas winemaking can in some cases be more rustic than high-tech. Gigondas shares Châteauneuf’s low maximum yield, 35 hl/ha (2 tons/acre); high minimum natural alcoholic strength, 12.5%; and a compulsory triage to eliminate imperfect grapes. Unlike Châteauneuf, however, it exists in rosé form.