I loved the 2017 Gigondas Ventabren and savvy readers should snatch this beauty up! Loads of Asian spices, herbes de Provence, new saddle leather, and sweet red and black fruit all flow to a medium to full-bodied, balanced, straight-up gorgeous 2017 that does everything right. Tasting like the essence of the south of France, it’s already drinking beautifully but will keep for over a decade. The blend is 70% Grenache, 20% Syrah, and 10% Cinsault that wasn’t destemmed and was brought up in old foudre and demi-muids.