Domaine La Bouissiere, Gigondas, Rhone, 2021

Domaine la Bouïssiere cares for some of the highest vineyards in Gigondas, thus estate wines are markedly more balanced, elegant and age-worthy than wines from the lowlands. In the 1960s, estate founder Antonin Faravel began to carve his vineyards out of the crumbling stone cliffs of the Dentelles de Montmirail (pictured on the family’s wine labels). He knew that the cooler temperatures and rocky soils would produce perfectly ripe grapes, with better acidic balance and lower alcohol, too. While other winemakers quickly followed Antonin’s lead, Domaine la Bouïssiere without question is the original, high-altitude Gigondas.