95pts Wine Advocate
Drink Date: 2024 - 2044
A new bottling, the 2022 Clos des Hospices is crafted from Grenache Noir planted in the Derrière Vieille lieu-dit, where a double grafting program with white grape varieties was implemented. It reveals a slightly reductive yet elegant bouquet of dark cherries, violet, pepper and floral notes. The medium-bodied palate is both elegant and juicy, with impressive depth at the core, a tense mid-palate and fine-grained tannins that flow into a long, ethereal finish, enhanced by chalky dry extract in the aftertaste. As one of the tensest Gigondas in Benjamin Gras’s lineup, it shows remarkable aging potential. Published: Oct 10, 2024

93 points Vinous Media
Drinking Window 2026 - 2036
The inaugural 2022 Gigondas Clos des Hospices replaces the Clos Derrière Vieille. This single-varietal Grenache comes from 40-year-old vines planted in limestone-rich soils with grey marl. The 2022 opens with prominent notes dried herbs, licorice, crushed rocks and stemmy aromas. Full-bodied and concentrated, yet effortlessly elegant, this red Gigondas will benefit from an additional two years of aging. - By Nicolas Greinacher, September 2024

The Clos des Hospices was in a sorry state when it was acquired by the Gras family in 1994. Through the strength of conviction and hard labour, the terraces were restored and given new life.

LOCATION : The parcels are all within the Clos des Hospices on the slopes of Gigondas, beyond the former Hospices and the village church. At 350 metres of altitude, the vineyard is planted on long, narrow terraces that follow the lie of the land and its limestone rocks. Facing north-west, the vines are surrounded by 7 hectares of woodland, bringing freshness and biodiversity.

SURFACE AREA : 2,43 hectares.

GEOLOGY : Soils of grey marl from the Cretaceous period, very rich in limestone, which allow for the deep rooting of the vines. The marl plays an important role as a hydric reserve and source of minerals and trace elements.

METHOD OF CULTIVATION : Ecocert-certified organic and Demeter-certified biodynamic.

GRAPE VARIETIES : Grenache 100% – Massal selection

AGE OF VINES : Average 40 years.

HARVESTING & VINIFICATION : The grapes are hand-picked into crates and sorted manually in the vineyard before a second, table sorting in the cellar. A proportion is destemmed, the quantity being determined by the nature of the vintage and the parcel, and the grapes are fed by gravity into the vats to ensure the integrity of the berries. Fermentation takes place in thermo-regulated stainless-steel vats for 20 to 30 days, with two long pumping over sessions daily. Punching down is decided after tasting. Pressed pneumatically. Malolactic fermentation in vat. The wines are clarified by settling over winter in the cellar. Barrel filling occurs in the spring.

AGEING : 18 months in 36-hectoliter oak Stockinger foudres, and 8-hectoliter terracotta amphorae. Unfined and unfiltered at bottling.

PERSONALITY : The wines from this terroir have diaphanous aromas of bright fruit and delicate floral notes. They offer a mineral freshness and lacy tannins that bear witness to the high proportion of limestone present in the marl. An exquisite gustatory experience that offers a clear demonstration of the power of nature to link a wine to its place of origin.