95pts Decanter
The original blended Domaine des Bosquets Gigondas is now available in two cuvees: Font des Bosquets (young vines, shorter ageing, no oak) and Reserve (older vines, 14 plots vinified separately including fruit from the top single vineyard sites, maturation in different types of oak for 18 months depending on the variety). The result is an extradordinary exercise in elegance, beautifully silky tannins and deeply vinous fruit. This is long, shapely and tapered with depth, freshness, elegance, and a seamless character. If the alcohol was marginally better integrated this would possible score higher. It's quite an expressive, almost showy wine, but it will be excellent when it's ready. Not as strongly characterful as each of the single vineyard expressions, but better balanced, and more quintessentially Gigondas. In organic conversion.
95pts Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Smart money will be chasing the 2018 Gigondas, which is nearly as stunning as the special cuvées this year. A blend of 45% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 20% Mourvèdre and 5% Cinsault, it boasts complex aromas of garrigue, cola, blood orange and raspberries. Full-bodied, silky-textured and long on the finish, it should drink well on release and for at least a decade thereafter. Rating: (93-95)
94pts Jeb Dunnuck
Leading off the 2018s from bottle, the 2018 Gigondas Reserve is a mix of Grenache, Mourvedre, and Syrah, and can be thought of as the classic cuvee of the domaine. It's beautifully done and shows the style of the domaine in its full-bodied, rich, yet also elegant profile. Offering a mix of red and black fruits, herbes de Procence, peppery garrigue, and flowers, this beauty is flawlessly balanced, has a round, layered mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and just tons of character. Drink this little gem anytime over the coming decade.
93pts Wine Spectator
Fresh and lively, with a ripe core of dark cherry and blackberry fruit leading the way for dried garrigue, singed apple wood and dark licorice notes.
Winemaker Notes
The Gigondas Reserve (reserve as of the 2018 vintage) comprises the majority of the production at Domaine des Bosquets. It is about 70% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 8% Mourvèdre and 2% Cinsault sourced from all the terroirs Julien farms.