DOMAINE ST.-DAMIEN
I was blown away by how the 2007 Gigondas cuvees, which I had rated very highly from barrel last year, had put on weight and texture, and had become essentially as compelling as Gigondas can be. Clearly St.-Damien’s young proprietor, Joel Saurel, has moved this estate alongside the appellation’s two superstars, Domaine Santa Duc and Chateau Saint-Cosme. The three cuvees of 2007 Gigondas are absolutely profound. I am not sure I haven’t underrated them as I had them on two separate occasions and the numerical scores listed are actually from the lower rated tasting. Come what may, these are unreal wines. For statisticians, these wines are aged 6-8 weeks in cement tanks before they are moved to old wood foudres for 12 months prior to being bottled unfined and unfiltered. The renowned Philippe Cambie is the consultant. All three of these Gigondas cuvees are amazing wines. Kudos to Joel Saurel! - Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate
St.-Damien was an Early Christian saint (martyred in the year 287 A.D.), considered the patron saint of doctors. There was a chapel to his honor in the tiny hamlet of La Baumette, just outside the village of Gigondas, where Joel Saurel lives. Saurel’s ancestors thus took the name St.-Damien for the domaine.
La Baumette is the "hot corner" of the Gigondas appellation – great exposure, galets roulees like Chateauneuf. Some of the oldest vines of the appellation are in this area, and Joel Saurel owns a nice chunk of them over 100 years old. Largely Grenache (over 90%), traditional vinification (no pigeage or new oak here!) and bottling without fining or filtering, result in full-bodied, complex classic Gigondas. Even our "basic" cuvee is from vines averaging 70 years.
Souteyrade is one Joel’s best parcels, particularly in hot years, making a true vin de garde Gigondas, with great weight and power, as well as majestic structure.
Saurel also has a few hectares of Cotes du Rhone in the Plan de Dieu, also in old vines. From these low yielding vines comes a warm, rich, spicy Cotes du Rhone – all one needs in a glass of wine.
Wines Offered
Domaine St.-Damien Cotes du Rhone Le Bouveau 2008 BUY »
Domaine St.-Damien Cotes du Rhone Vieilles Vignes 2009 - WA 91-92 points BUY »
Domaine St.-Damien Gigondas Vieilles Vignes 2006 - WS 88 points, WA 90 points BUY »
Domaine St.-Damien Gigondas Vieilles Vignes 2007 - WA 95+ points BUY »
Domaine St.-Damien Gigondas Vieilles Vignes 2008 - WA 90 points BUY »
Domaine St.-Damien Gigondas La Louisiane 2006 - WA 89 points BUY »
Domaine St.-Damien Gigondas La Louisiane 2007 - WA 95 points BUY »
Domaine St.-Damien Gigondas Les Souteyrades 2006 - WA 93 points BUY »
