Gigondas, Vacqueyras & Beaumes de Venise 2022: Report and top-scoring wines

This has an enjoyably earthy aromatic display with peppery herbs underneath. Soft and juicy, with more herbal notes, bay leaf and oregano on the palate....

Showing spice and herb notes on opening, such as oregano, olive and marjoram, with a touch of dried ham too. Relatively full-bodied, this has depth...

Relatively pale in colour (pure Grenache), with a strongly herb-led aromatic profile – oregano and bay leaf. It’s medium-bodied, with more dried herbs on the...

Aromatically elegant and precise. Intense but not heavy on the palate – a direct, focused style with ripe tannins and good acidity. Very well balanced....

Discrete layers of red berry fruit and spice on the nose, alongside some savoury dill notes. It’s full-bodied but not massive, with softer tannins than...

There’s a herbal touch on the nose, like garrigue and hot sand. The tannins are fine, and there’s precise acidity, salinity and serious intensity. A...

Fresh and defined red berry fruits on the nose, and enjoyable candied notes to the strawberry fruit (but not confected). Medium-bodied, fresh and well balanced....

Smoky blackcurrant and sloe fruit aromas lead to a very concentrated and powerful but yielding palate, that’s not too hard. This has real depth and...

A wine with body, good fruit intensity, lift and purity. Piercing, tremulous acidity, and fine, pixelated tannins that are sufficiently ripe. It’s much longer and...

An expansive, silky style of Gigondas. Fine fruit tannins are bolstered by some oak tannins, it's certainly structured and with good acidity. Well balanced, this...

Strawberry and raspberry aromatics, with soft, flowing, smooth fruit that has an inner mineral freshness. There’s good length, with surprisingly well-balanced alcohol for a 100%...

Blueberry and blackberry jam aromas, really vivid and brightly fruited. It’s full-bodied, ripe, concentrated and voluminous. The alcohol is a little warming on the finish....

Quite pale in colour, with dried Provençal herbs on the nose. Bright and aromatic. Only medium-bodied, no huge concentration or ripeness. Good acidity, with slightly...

This has some character and interest, it's quite powerful and ripe. The acidity is driving and the tannins are smooth and ripe, this has some...

Darkly coloured. Concentrated and dark in aroma, with damson and black fruits. The oak adds a complex spicy note. Powerful and grippy, quite dominated by...

Much deeper and more expressive than the domaine’s classic cuvée, with a more herbal character on the nose, and darker in colour. Enjoyable menthol touch...

A bright and raspberry-fruited example. Fine, relatively light in tannin with brisk redcurrant acidity. A juicy and refreshing style, with no great concentration. Eight different...

Dark in the glass, with expressive black fruits on the nose. Full-bodied, powerful and concentrated, the tannins are big, bold and muscular, they'll need time...

Deeper in fruit than most 2022s, this has a more satisfying level of ripeness of both fruit and tannin. It has length too. It takes...

Fresh strawberry fruit aromas, then very powerful and full-bodied on the palate. The alcohol here is a little raised, but it suits the bombastic style...

A nice sense of purity here, with a broad and undulating palate. The good acidity and soft tannin are all in proportion. Vibrant and...

Strong menthol notes combined with robust oak treatment. The finish is fresh, with soft ripe tannin. Exuberant, and will be complex in time.

Quite pale in colour for a Gigondas. A fresh, floral expression with lavender and fresh herbs. Rounded, soft, no excess acidity, but it's bright and...

Fairly pale in colour, with a floral, potpourri character on the nose. Medium- to full-bodied, there's a plumpness from the juicy red fruits rather than...

Gorgeous raspberry eau-de-vie notes on the nose. Full-bodied and juicy in the mouth but without too much tannic intensity. Bright, expressive fruits throughout, into the...

More full-bodied than Floureto, with violets and blackberries. Acidity is quite marked, the tannins fairly firm, a touch leathery yet supple, finishing slightly grainy, but...

With aromatics of thyme, rosemary, oregano and blackberry, this is only medium-bodied but has searching tannins and vibrant herbal characters. Very drinkable and fresh. Enjoyable,...

Gorgeous herbal, mentholated nose. Only medium-bodied, this is really quite fresh and approachable, not overly tannic; the acidity is low but the balance feels natural...