2013 A promising vintage with elegance and freshness Each year is different, making the wines such noble; requiring a constant flexibility to deal with the ‘’Mother Nature surprises’’ that come at you. The 2013 harvest is among the most latest on record over the last thirty years. This very special year will live on in the memories of the Gigondas winemakers. On June, the rainy and cold months of spring delayed flowering and causing an historical flower abortion on Grenache. Fortunately, great weather in summer allowed good grapes ripeness. Thanks to hot days and cool evenings, grapes on our vines took their time to ripen with good concentration of anthocyanin and tannins. Grapes are mostly collected in the first half of October with a three weeks delay. The percentage of Grenache was significantly lower than previous years to benefit to Syrah and Mourvèdre. But whatever the variety, the quality was great. The first wines tasted showed nice ruby colors and a great fruity freshness with really well-structured tannins. The slow ripening was ideal to achieve good balances. Aromatic potentials were excellent with crunchy red fruits. It opened with ripe, silky and elegant tannins; acidity was good with a moderate alcohol level. The historically later harvests, the low yield on Grenache, the cooler climate and the low ripening provide a really special vintage wine. 2013 is a promising vintage, well balanced with high freshness. Copyright : Laurent Philis – Philis Œnologie à Gigondas