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B-21 Top Recommendation
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"... some of the most brilliant wines in France that virtually no one ever hears about!" - John Gilman, View From the Cellar
If dramatic scenery determined a wine region's fame, everyone would know about the Côtes de Roussillon. This landscape in the foothills of the Pyrenees is some of the most visually striking and inspiring in the wine world, and this rugged, wild character comes through in the region's best examples, namely the wines of Domaine Gauby. This family-run domaine is the reference-point for pinnacle expressions of the clay/limestone and schist soils and extremely old vines, and their wines play in the same league as top examples from the more famous appellations in the Rhône.
The 93-point 2022 Calcinaires Rouge is a prime introduction the sheer excellence and dynamic style that are the hallmarks of the domaine. A blend of Syrah, Grenache, and Carignan (this from almost 100-year-old vines), it's "a gorgeous, immediately charming expression that showcases this forgotten part of France in beautiful relief." From both granite and limestone soils, the signatures of both are readily apparent, and the utterly captivating, expressive fruit profile pops with real charm and intensity.
The 2020 Vieilles Vignes Rouge is a step in the opposite stylistic direction, defined by intense, structured minerality and dark undertones. Made mostly of Carignan from 120-year-old vines, "this is a dark, brooding, feral wine with an untamed edge that just screams of (or from) the wilderness," as B-21 buyer Andrew Kitz describes it. The ultra-firm yet refined texture is a perfect foundation for its immense concentration and primary, tightly wound core. You'll eventually get the gist of what the VV is about with time and air, but this is a must-have for the cellar that will perform like a champ in the cellar.
Finally, the 2019 La Muntada is the domaine's tête de cuvée, a selection of the very finest barrels in the cellar blended for their apex expression of the Gauby style. View From the Cellar's John Gilman declares, "This is a truly stunning young wine that is as good as anything being made in Châteauneuf du Pape these days, and maybe better." Incredibly concentrated and structured, the 2019 is indeed surprisingly young still, with undeniable cellar potential indicated by profound primary complexity. As Andrew observes, "This will be a phenomenal wine for the next 20 years."
Any way you look at it, this is a trio of benchmark beauties that offer avid wine adventurers and collectors a taste of the very best of one of France's most singular appellations. |
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Gauby’s Muntada is a cellar selection of top barrels made in a reserve style, typically Grenache-based and containing large portions of fruit from their 90-year-old vines. Clearly the apex of the line-up, it delivers a staggeringly complex aromatic profile starting with intense anise, iron, rocky soil tones, and fresh mint. With air, a deep fruit character emerges as tart raspberry, dark cherry pits, and cherry compote. To underscore the nascent complexity in this young wine (yes, it’s young at seven), you’ll also notice smoked meat, white pepper, clove, juniper, and lilac. Stunning, and that’s just the nose. The palate needs air, but the incredibly precise structure and texture are immediately apparent. Wild forest berries, black currant, and dried violet come to the fore, with a firm spine of chalk and granite backing them up. The tannins only get more refined with time, as secondary flavors of iron, garrigue, asphalt, pine resin, and graphite ride a mesmerizing finish. This will be a phenomenal wine for the next 20 years.
95-96 points, Andrew Kitz, B-21 France Buyer (Feb 2026)
The Côtes du Roussillon “Muntada” bottling from Domaine Gauby is their reserve red wine, made from a barrel selection in the cellars of the finest casks of syrah, mourvèdre and carignan. Like many of the domaine’s other wines, production from old vines ranging to more than ninety years of age can be included here, but this is not an old vine cuvée per se, but a selection of the finest barrels to make as fine a reserve wine as possible. The 2019 Muntada comes in at fourteen percent octane and offers up a stunning bouquet of red and black raspberries, smoked meats, pepper, a complex base of stony soil, garrigue, black tea, distant bonfire and a topnote of lavender. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and impeccably balanced, with an outstanding core of fruit, excellent soil signature, ripe, buried tannins and excellent focus on the very long and very promising finish. This is a truly stunning young wine that is as good as anything being made in Châteauneuf du Pape these days, and maybe better, as it only tips the scales at fourteen percent octane is more elegant than most Châteauneuf in our age of global warming.
94+ points, John Gilman, View From The Cellar (Oct 2025)
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