DOMAINE LA BOUÏSSIÈRE RHONE, FRANCE

Gilles and Thierry Faravel took over the estate from their father back in 1988, where they farm 22 acres on the steep upper slopes of Gigondas, under the Dentelles de Montmirail. (They also own land in Vacqueyras and Beaumes de Venise.) The Gigondas vineyards lie between 350-400 meters, allowing for late harvests (often mid-October). The cooler temperatures there allow for livelier wines than the vineyards lower down. They employ non-interventionalist practices to make wines as naturally as possible, resulting in wines of immense concentration, freshness and depth, with true vibrancy and the capacity to age ten to fifteen years. They border on the fanatical when it comes to the health of their vines and grapes. Theirs are wines that are intimately tied to and faithfully reflect the rugged, sensual beauty of the Provençal landscape from which they’re born.