Tar, oak and liquorice nos. Modern palate with a sweet core of plum fruit and oaky length. Will become more complex from 2016.

January 2012:
Opaque purple. Powerful aromas of cherry-vanilla, mocha and cola, with an intense floral overtone. Lush, creamy and sweet, offering broad, oak-spiced dark fruit flavors. The finish is smoky, spicy and very long. Carrying a lot of oak right now but I'll bet that the fruit is up to it--or will be in a few years.

January 2011: Inky purple. Intensely perfumed bouquet of dark berries, toasty oak, garrigue and minerals. Lively blackberry and cherry flavors are underscored by smoky minerality, picking up deeper notes of licorice and mocha in the middle palate. Leaves a trail of juicy dark fruits and spices behind on the persistent, energetic finish.

Opaque ruby. Exotic aromas of cherry-vanilla, dark berries, cola and lavender. Lush and creamy in texture, offering sweet dark fruit compote flavors and a good dose of oak spice. The floral quality comes back on the finish, which clings with impressive tenacity and length. Quite modern in style but there's plenty of material here.

There is some toasty new oak in the 2010 Domaine Grand Romane Prestige Vieilles Vignes's nose, but it did not distract from the abundant notes of spring flowers, red and black fruits, foret floor and earth. Deep, full bodied, rich and primary with higher acids and lower alcohol than the 2009, it should drink well for 10-12 years.

The 2009 Pierre Amadieu Gigondas Domaine Grand Romane is a pretty, fresh wine that display perfumed raspberry, cherry, flowers, and a subtle garrigue aromas, a medium to full-bodied, balanced feel, good richness, and plenty of length. Very well done, this outstanding Gigondas should drink nicely for up to a decade.

Very dark, polished crimson. Very vibrant, meaty and savoury. Less obviously sweet than some but clearly of real interest. Juicy with all the elements there but the fresh tannins still need some resolution. Great balance even if not one of the densest. Very promising..

A blend of 65% Grenache, 20% Mourvedre and 15% Syrah from 50-year-old vines, the seriously concentrated 2009 Gigondas Grand Romane Cuvee Prestige Vieilles Vignes boasts a dense purple color as well as an impressive bouquet of blackberries, black currants, licorice, camphor and forest floor. Long and deep with a full-bodied texture and outstanding purity and length, it should be drunk over the next decade.

October 2011-
Even more corpulent and opulent, the 2009 Gigondas Grand Romane's dense purple color is followed by notes of charchoal, blackberries, cassis, camphor and forest floor. Full-bodied, thick and juicy with unctuosity as well as loads of glycerin, this is a serious, nearly over-the-top Gigondas to drink over the next 10-12 years.

Jan 2011
Bright purple. Oak-spiced cherry and dark berries on the nose, with complicating notes of mocha and candied licorice. Fleshy and seamless on the palate, offering sweet dark fruit flavors and a slow-building vanilla quality. Impressively deep for the vintage. Finishes sweet, expansive and very long.

Feb 2010
Vivid purple. Black and blue fruits on the nose, with complicating notes of five-spice powder and sassafras. Lively, finely etched cherry and blackberry flavors are framed by supple tannins. Blueberry and cassis notes linger on the persistent, sweet, smoky finish. Deeper than the Romane-Machotte and in need of more patience.

Blueish purple. Very polished nose. Sweet, with a foxglove nose – not for purists but this is a wine that a lot of effort has gone into to tame it. Wait a while and it may surprise those with a prejudice against 2008s. Just not porty.

The most limited offering, the 2007 Gigondas Grand Romane Cuvee Prestige Vieilles Vignes, is a top-flight effort. Its dense plum/purple color is followed by a sweet bouquet of licorice, garrigue, black and red fruits, pepper, spice, and toasty oak. Broad, savory, and full-bodied with outstanding concentration, purity, and texture, its tannins and oak component suggest 1-2 years of bottle age will be beneficial. It should keep for 12-15+ years.

Very attractive Southern wine in its temperament, « en dentelle » with perfumes of garrigue. Very beautiful complexity also in mouth combining very present fruit in this wine full of energy which asserts itself with many relief.
Among Wines noted between 15,5 and 17,5 on 20

Opaque purple. Exotic aromas of blackberry, cherry-vanilla, cola, Indian spices and potpourri. Very fresh, spicy dark berry and candied cherry flavors display supple texture and a slow-building spiciness. The floral qualities repeat on the seductively sweet, long finish.

Jan 2010 : 93/100
Glass-staining purple. Pungent, perfumed bouquet of black raspberry and cherry compote, cola and spicecake lifted by a sexy floral quality. Broad, palate- coating dark fruit and floral pastille flavors becomes spicier with air and pick up a note of mocha. Deep and sweet but surprisingly lively, with excellent finishing clarity and lingering spiciness.

Delivers gorgeous raspberry ganache, blackberry compote and fig sauce aromas and flavors, with a vibrant, minerally spine and a long, black tea infused finish. Drink now through 2013.

Very young nose, young dark fruits, plums and fresh pepper. The palate has a really good intensity, nice tannic structure, dark fruit and a superb persistence, this is still a little bit young and square but should get some ageing and develop well.

The nose shows sweet fruit, new oak and chocolate, full-bodied with fruit ans spicy liquorice notes, medium-to-long finish.

Ce Gigondas s'affirme par une matière ferme et riche avec des tanins abondants mais très mûrs renforcés par un fruité qui prend doucement l'ascendant sur une minéralité fine mais persistante.
Parmi les Vins notés entre 15,5 et 17,5 sur 20

Domaine Grand Romane 2005

With prices of Châteauneuf du Pape rising, look to the nearby appellation of Gigondas for value-priced reds. Made with the same grapes, but from different soils, wines from Gigondas offer a similar taste experience. Take, for example, the Pierre Amadieu Gigondas Domaine Grand Romane 2005, offering toast, spice, black cherry and fig cake notes on a rich frame.

Offers suave toast, with spice and fig cake aromas guiding the black cherry, hoisin sauce, graphite and Turkish coffee notes through the long, rich finish. Drink now through 2011.

Offers suave toast, with spice and fig cake aromas guiding the black cherry, hoisin sauce, graphite and Turkish coffee notes through the long, rich finish. Drink now through 2011.

Vivid ruby. Expressive aromas of black raspberry, cherry-cola, vanilla and Asian spices. Sweet and supple, with deep red and dark berry flavors, no obvious tannins and a bright snap of minerals. Finishes with clinging spiciness. This is delicious right now.

Bright rubby. Impressively complex, wild array of red and dark berry preserve scents, along with violet and baking spices. Deep and sweet but fresh, with blackberry, candied plum and tapenade flavors. Finishes with serious punch. This will need hearty food.

Bright purple. Deep, complex bouquet suggest dark berries, kirch, licorice, smoked meat and dried flowers. Mouthfilling blackberry and cherry preserve flavors are firmed by supple tannins, which add strength to the long, sappy finish. This has surprising vivacity for such flavour impact.

Alluring spice, coffee and crushed berry fruit aromas and flavors, with a ripe, plush texture. Long finish is plush, and filled with dark fruit.

A blend of 65% Grenache, 15% Syrah, and 20% Mourvèdre, the dark ruby-colored 2004 Gigondas Domaine Grand Romane reveals attractive, up-front, soft berry and cherry notes intermixed with herbes de Porvence, earth, and spice box. It is best consumed over the next 5-6 years.

Auf gut 400 Meter Höhe wachsen die Trauben (überwiegend Grenache, Mourvèdre und Syrah) für diesen Prestigewein von Pierre Amadieu. Er kommt wie ein ganz traditioneller Gigondas daher, erinnert sein würziges Bukett doch an Leder, einen Stall und dessen vierbeinige Bewohner. Sein Kaffee-, Kirsch und Pflaumenaroma fand viel Beifall, ebenso die geschliffen klare Beerenfrucht und die schöne SyrahWürrze, Spürbares Tannin, kraftvoller Körper, gute Länge.
Il se présente comme un Gigondas traditionnel. Pourtant son bouquet savoureux rappelle le cuir, et l'arôme animal. Son arôme de café, de kirsch et de prunes est très agréable, tout comme les petits fruits et les épices de la syrah. Des tanins bien présents,du corps, une bonne longueur.

Since starting a revival under Pierre Amadieu, grandson of the Pierre Amadieu who bought the domaine in 1950, things are better supervised, and cuvées like the Domaine Grand Romane now contain clear cut fruit but also a meaty interior in big vintages like 2003. The length is furniched by 20% Mourvèdre. The Grande Réserve, 85% Grenache, 15% Syrah, has stylish fruit and regains a local stamp with age.

Another 2003 gigondas that resembles a red burgundy more than a southern Rhône, Grand Romane's offering reveals floral, cherry and blue berry secnts intermixed with notions of flowers and minerals. This medium-bodied, stylish, restrained, elegant effort will drink well for 5-7 years.

Beautiful from start to finish. Very focused, with gorgeous black and red fruit. Medium- to full-bodied, the mineral and wet earth complexity brings a chewy, chalky character that adds depth to this silky and subtle gem. Tempting now, but built for aging. Best from 2004 through 2010.