GIGONDAS COMBE SAUVAGE 2020 (Domaine Fontavin)

TERROIR

The relief of the Gigondas designation is from tectonic origin. A slow and powerful rise of salt and gypsum provoked an extreme elevation and deformation of all the layers located above the Trias. This deformation and verticalisation gave birth to the famous "dentelles de Montmirail", made of hard limestone layers dating from the Jurassic period.

The place called Combe Sauvage, is composed of black marls formed in the Oxfordian (Upper Jurassic, -161 to -155 Ma) and covered with limestone scree coming from the relief erosion.

WINEGROWING & WINEMAKING

COMBE SAUVAGE is a red wine from Gigondas whose vines (60 years old) are located at the eponymous place, at an altitude of 400 meters, in the heart of the Dentelles de Montmirail.

The vines are cultivated according to the principles of the Organic Agriculture: one row out of two is grassed, and the soil is enriched by adding sheep compost.

The grapes are harvested manually and totally destemmed. They are placed in stainless steel vats for a maceration period that lasts 3 weeks.

The alcoholic fermentation starts spontaneously under the action of indigenous yeasts. Pumping over and punching down, which consists of breaking the marc cap that forms at the vat's top in order to mix them with the fermented juice, allow a gentle extraction of tannins and color.

At the end of maceration, the must is pressed and the free-run juice is blended before being transferred to concrete tanks for an ageing phase of 12 months.
The must is then lightly filtered and bottled.