Gauby’s Vieilles Vignes Rouge, mostly Carignan made from vines up to 120 years old, is a complete departure from the sunny, forward disposition of the Calcinaires. This is a dark, brooding, feral wine with an untamed edge that just screams of (or from) the wilderness. The nose is quite closed at first, so it needs some air (preferably a decant), but the aromatic profile soon reveals deep, dark currant and all manner of wild berries. The real story, however, is the intensely mineral core of iron, rocky granite, and wild game that powers the wine’s personality. Around the edges, new leather and faint tones of crushed rose petal add nuance. The palate is also shy at first, coming around to offer up a mirror expression of the aromatic profile, in nearly the exact same progression. For such a sauvage wine, the structural precision is very impressive, with the firm tannins indicating serious cellar potential. It’s a specimen now, but it deserves a few years to come into its own.
93-94 points, Andrew Kitz, B-21 France Buyer (Feb 2026)
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