Another decent value to look for is the Vin de Pays 2009 and 2010 Les Plans, made from mostly Grenache with a little Syrah and Mourvedre from outside the appellation, thus the Vin de Pays designation. The 2009 is slightly better than the 2010, which seems a little austere and tart compared to the supple, fleshlier, berry-fruited 2009. Both wines are meant to be drunk uncritically in a brasserie/bistro.(Not yet released)One of the long-time benchmarks for superb Gigondas is Yves Gras’ estate on the high plateau several kilometers outside the entrance to this old Roman village. He has also expanded into the negociant end of the business with his Santa Duc Selections, which are very reliable wines worth a serious look. Until 2007, there were consistently two cuvees of Gigondas made in top vintages. With the finest vintages, Gras has now added a 100% Grenache cuvee called Grand Grenache 66, from a tiny parcel of vines and essentially just one small foudre. Turning back to the basic wines, they offer good value and are top-flight wines. The newest baby for Yves Gras comes from his purchase of 1.23 hectares (essentially about 3+ acres) of old vines planted with 100% Grenache in the Chateauneuf du Pape lieu-dit in the very north known as Font du Loup.Importer: Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 832-9083

Another decent value to look for is the Vin de Pays 2009 and 2010 Les Plans, made from mostly Grenache with a little Syrah and Mourvedre from outside the appellation, thus the Vin de Pays designation. The 2009 is slightly better than the 2010, which seems a little austere and tart compared to the supple, fleshlier, berry-fruited 2009. Both wines are meant to be drunk uncritically in a brasserie/bistro.One of the long-time benchmarks for superb Gigondas is Yves Gras’ estate on the high plateau several kilometers outside the entrance to this old Roman village. He has also expanded into the negociant end of the business with his Santa Duc Selections, which are very reliable wines worth a serious look. Until 2007, there were consistently two cuvees of Gigondas made in top vintages. With the finest vintages, Gras has now added a 100% Grenache cuvee called Grand Grenache 66, from a tiny parcel of vines and essentially just one small foudre. Turning back to the basic wines, they offer good value and are top-flight wines. The newest baby for Yves Gras comes from his purchase of 1.23 hectares (essentially about 3+ acres) of old vines planted with 100% Grenache in the Chateauneuf du Pape lieu-dit in the very north known as Font du Loup.Importer: Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 832-9083

The two basic reds include the 2007 Les Plans, a vin de pays made up of 50% Grenache, 25% Syrah, and the rest Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. This is a beefy wine with notes of tobacco leaf, red and black currants, licorice, and earth. Best drunk over the next 2 years, it is a delicious bistro/brasserie style of wine that sells at a very low price. Yves Gras is one of the great personalities of the southern Rhone, and I always enjoy my visits with him. Aside from his passion and singular personality is his exceptional talent for winemaking and vineyard management. First, as I have indicated in the past, he has a small negociant operation. There are very few efforts in 2008 under the “Santa Duc Selection” moniker because of the challenging vintage; he did show me three wines. The estate wines in 2008 include only one cuvee of Gigondas, as there will be no Les Hautes Garrigues produced, or his new baby, the Grand Grenache 66. The three cuvees of 2007 are certainly the finest wines I have tasted from Yves Gras since I started visiting him in the mid-1980s.Importer: Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 832-9083

The 2006 Vin de Pays Vaucluse Les Plans is an inexpensive, bistro-styled red that Gras calls a vin gourmand, which simply means, delicious. A blend of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, and Cabernet Sauvignon, it possesses dusty black cherry, earth, cedar, and garrigue notes. Drink it over the next year. One of the reference points of Gigondas as well as one of the model winemaking estates in the southern Rhone that of Yves Gras, his beloved Domaine Santa Duc. He also produces some negociant wines, which are marketed under the Santa Duc Selections moniker. Under the Domaine Santa Duc label, Gras produces one of the best buys in Cotes du Rhone, his Les Quatres Terres. Traditionally, there have been two cuvees of Gigondas produced at Domaine Santa Duc, the Cuvee Tradition and Les Hautes Garrigues (which is made in only the top vintages). However, in 2007, a new, 100% Grenache, 4,000-bottle cuvee has been produced. All three of these Gigondas are exhilarating wines of superb quality. They set reference points for what Gigondas can be. Only Louis Barroul at St.-Cosme achieves the same quality.Importer: Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 832-9083