Meunier's philosophy is to let the grapes and the terroir express themselves, switching to organic viticulture in 2000. He now farms bio-dynamically and late harvests at a low 22-27hl/ha when most Gigondas are 36 hl/ha plus. There's no fining or filtration, topping this off with the top quality Amorim corks which are independently tested for TCA so there are no corked bottles.
These are wines of finesse and balance allowing both early drinking and cellar-ability. These are a long way from the rustic Gigondas of the old days.
Josh Raynolds of Vinous Media:
“Jean-Baptiste Meunier represents the fifth generation to watch over the small-sized (10 hectares) family estate Moulin de la Gardette. All the holdings are in Gigondas. Moulin de la Gardette’s wines are fermented in large concrete vats, followed by aging in neutral oak casks of varying sizes. The Cuvée Tradition is made with de-stemmed fruit, while the old-vine Ventabren gets the 100% whole clusters treatment and is especially worthy of attention. The wines look highly promising and are probably the best wines I have yet had from this domaine. The style leans toward rich and powerful but not excessively showy reds; oak is basically an afterthought, and the wines are well-balanced.”
In September 2019 Matt Walls of Decanter Magazine selected Moulin de La Gardette as one of the southern Rhône’s ten most exciting estates, noting - "I have no doubt that Moulin de La Gardette is one of the greatest estates in Gigondas, but, in the UK at least, we’ve been slow to catch on."
