Meanwhile, in the Rhone valley last November, we were staying at our former customers John and Valeria Anderson’s gorgeous guest house Mas de Carabelle high up in the hills above Beaumes de Venise. They recommended we visit Bistrot Vin Ensen in Caromb, two villages away. A bottle of Chateauneuf had just been opened and Jean-Philippe, the wine guy, came with another bottle and said “if you haven’t had this before, you should try it next time”. Never mind next time, let’s do it now. Gour de Chaule Gigondas. Wow. That’s a fantastic Gigondas: such purity of fruit, definition and elegance – unexpected in a wine dominated by Grenache.
The following day, it took some doing to make contact with Paul Fumoso at Gour de Chaule and it was our host John who happened to be there when Paul came back from hunting. And we happened to be nearby too. Gour de Chaule, established in 1871, has passed through the female side of the family since 1970, from great grandmother to grandmother to Paul’s mother. Paul may be young but he has very clear ideas about how their wine should be made. Mostly, enormous attention in the vineyards. The 2023s we tasted pre-bottling were fabulous and now they have arrived. Who would’ve known that Grenache could be so elegant?
