Tasting in Chateauneuf du Pape and Gigondas

We are headed to Provence next September to hike. We hired a top rated wino guide for a day of tasting in Chateauneuf du Pape and Gigondas. Curious to hear any insights. I am sure the guide will have his favorites to take us to, but are there any must sees, especially in Gigondas? Would appreciate dining recommendations as well. We will be on our own while hiking.

Lunch at L’Oustalet in Gigondas.

Checked out the website. Just the kind of place you would hope would be there. Looks fabulous.

I didn’t notice much more there either FWIW. Definitely seemed to be the best place in town to dine.

btw, after we had lunch iirc we drove over to Vieux Telegraphe and tasted there as they also produce Domaine les Pallières Gigondas. It’s a fairly short drive. It was a nice tasting and tour.

Our group’s favorite tasting was easily Clos du Pape. He gave us a great tour followed by a multivintage tasting standing up in the barrel room. Lots of fun.

Nice!

We visited others if you’re interested. Nerthe was actually a very pretty property, nice tour and everybody in the group seemed to like it. Beaucastel is worth it just to see the vineyards. You’d be amazed at the stones.

We also hit others like Les Cailloux, Mont Olivet, Usseglio, Gardine, etc… but Clos du Pape, Nerthe, Vieux Telegraphe & Beaucastel were definitely the highlights of our tastings.

I’ll second Beaucastel for the tour, although purchasing (full price +) is done at their retail store in the town of CDP. You can email them for a tour appointment. It’s likely a Perrin family member will guide you through the vineyard, cellar of aged bottles, production facility and upstairs to a stunning and large tasting room where you’ll try maybe 3-4 wines. For me, the Blanc or Roussane is wonderful.

I want to go tomorrow!

In Gigondas, you might check out Chateau Saint Cosme – very rustic and cool, and some really interesting and high quality wines from throughout the region.

Not far from Gigondas is the village of Séguret, an incredibly picturesque and charming hamlet I stumbled on the last time I was in the region. Seguret - Village in the Vaucluse - Provence Web - France. I was there off-season and it was empty and haunting, but in high season I can imagine it’s busy.

In Chateauneuf, a pretty highly regarded producer I’m shocked hasn’t yet been mentioned would be Pegau. Laurence Feraud of Pegau is one of my favorite proprietors – she’s just so dynamic and fun that a visit with her is always a treat. [Disclosure – we run a mailing list for Pegau in the U.S.]

Seguret looks nice. I am not sure if we are going to get to it though. Our accommodations are in Avignon, St Remy, Gordes, Bonnieux and Isle Sur La Surgue with our hikes taking in and around these areas. The more we research, the more we find to do and discover and we only have 12 days total. We may have to do a second trip someday.