Sunday, December 25, 2011

Domaine du Cayron Gigondas, 1988

Even though it's a year older and from a lesser appellation, this Cayron Gigondas actually had more life and fruit than the Lucien Barrot Chateauneuf du Pape beside it. That's saying a lot.

Darker and deeper than the Barrot in color; also darker and deeper bouquet. Deep, deep scents and flavors of cherries along with some spice and pepper. Everything has come together nicely. Still has some amazingly fresh cherry/berry acidity to accompany the powerful Gigondas presence. Layers and layers of flavors. When it was young and even in the late 1990s, this wine seemed to have some kind of funky flaw. But I can find nothing wrong tonight. Although Gigondas does not have a great reputation for long aging, Cayron is apparently a keeper. I have had vintages all the way back to 1980 in recent years--all aging beautifully.

8 comments:

  1. Hi,
    I think you're absolutely right.
    I recently opened a 1998 Cayron and it was a perfect showing. I think they need 8 to 10 years to get balanced and can stay a long time.

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  2. Hi Fred,

    I have the opportunity to buy some bottles of the 92 Cayron. I hesitate because it was a very mediocre vintage. Do you think with your Cayron experience, given the bottles were properly stored, this still could be good wine ?

    Best Regards

    Dieter

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  3. Hi Dieter,
    Gosh, I don't know what to tell you. I didn't buy ANY 1992s from the Southern Rhone. That's an indication of how bad the vintage was. Didn't they have floods that year? But there is no question in my mind that Cayron is as consistent as any Gigondas producer. And the wines are incredibly ageworthy. 1980 was not a particularly good year for the Southern Rhone, and the 1980 Cayron was drinking decently a few years ago.

    I guess price is a major factor here. I would not pay a premium for it. By comparison, I bought three bottles of the 1999 Rabasse Charavin Cairanne Cuvee Estevenas a few weeks ago for $10 a bottle. Great producer, top cuvee but no one wanted to take a chance on a 13-year-old Cairanne--even one that the producer says keeps for 9 to 12 years or longer. For $5 or $10, I would take a similar chance on the Cayron. For whatever you're willing to sacrifice, knowing you might be disappointed, you could end up with a real treasure.

    Good luck. Let me know.
    Fred

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  4. Hi Fred,

    thank you, you are right, if the price is acceptable, i will take it and then i will know whether the Farauds could manage the bad conditions of 92 and produce a wine of 20 year durability. I like their Gigondas a lot and the attitude (like Raspail-Ay) to produce only one wine, so you never have the feeling you get a lesser wine compared with different "Super Cuvees". I recently opened a 98 and it simply blew me away, what a wine ! Parker and Wine Spectator put thumbs down as they tasted in 2000, so much for the experts, mostly they are a waste of time and what had i missed in the past if I would have followed their opinion.
    O.K., I will let you know if the bottle was o.K.

    Best Regards

    Dieter

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  5. Cayron always requires some time. I remember getting the 1988 at a deep discount; the wine merchant thought it was so bad that he would never sell it. So I gladly took all he had (which was only about a case) for his closeout price. After age 10 or so, it continued to blossom. The 1992 is probably very good, too, but I would think of it as a gamble rather than a sure thing. Who knows?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Fred,

      the bottle just arrived. I think I will give it a little time to calm down. From the same source I will get some of the 1985, have you ever tasted the 1985 ?

      Best Regards

      Dieter

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    2. Hi Fred,

      the gamble did pay off. I don't know how Michel Faraud does it, but it was still good drinking despite the mediocre vintage and 20 years of age, a kind of magic !

      (The 1985's were over the hill, but they looked badly stored)

      Best Regards

      Dieter

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  6. Hey Dieter,
    So glad to hear it! Faraud is an excellent winemaker, and he apparently has great vineyards too. I'm sure the 1985s must have been badly stored. I've had the wine (although not recently), and it was always particularly good even for Cayron.
    Best,
    Fred

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