Almost all Grenache, La Roque comes from 80-90-year-old vines planted on lime and schist soils. Aged all in demi-muid, it offers up a stunning, intensely perfumed bouquet of kirsch and blackberry-styled fruit intermixed with violets, leather and a saline-like minerality that develops with time in the glass. Full-bodied, layered and rich, with excellent concentration, no apparent heaviness or weight, and fine tannin that emerges on the finish, it is a stunningly elegant Grenache that will benefit from short-term cellaring, and evolve gracefully for over 15 years.
Domaine Gauby's trailblazing commitment to a vigorous biodynamic viticultural regimen has culminated in a unique style of winemaking, demonstrating a near-perfect balance between power and restraint, and that unfailingly expresses the purity of provenance.
Gerard Gauby and his son, Lionel, emphasize manual, rather than mechanized labor. (Wild plants and trees are allowed to grow in and around the vineyards, while weeds under the vines are plowed using a team of mules.)
As a result of his commitment to these and other practices, Gerard is widely regarded as the king of biodynamic winemaking in southern France, and The Wine Advocate's Jeb Dunnuck called Domaine Gauby "one of the top estates in France."
Gerard's philosophy is rooted in an understanding of wine as a picture of a specific place and vintage. This unflinching individuality has given the wines of Domaine Gauby the pure expression of their terroir.
And with his talented son Lionel at his side, the wines have achieved an even higher level of quality.