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Domaine Santa Duc Gigondas Prestige des Hautes Garrigues 2012
RedFrance2012
By Daniel Min · Tasted 2020-04-04 · Published 2026-09-30 · Updated 2026-09-30
At a glance
In one line
4.0/5 — lower than Vivino's 4.2 average · world avg price US$93 · The Gigondas I opened first on the evening after the Beaucastel.
Wine-Searcher aggregate of 6 critic reviews: 90. One barrel-sample critic score of 92–94 on Vivino (Dec 2013), publication name not shown.
Market note: World average US$93 / 750ml (Wine-Searcher, ex-tax, Sep 2026). On the same basis the house's Gigondas Aux Lieux-Dits is US$37 (92), Clos des Hospices US$61 (93), Grand Grenache 66 US$80 (92), and Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau Ouest US$106 (93). On Vivino, vintages from 1998 to 2016 with 30+ ratings score 3.9–4.3.
Father's note — Daniel Min
Original author of the notes“좋은 아로마에 팔렛에서는 남부 론 특징이 도드라지게 수수하게 다가오다가 장미 아로마가 꽃이 피듯 뒤늦게 다가온다. 바로 전에 먹었던 보카스텔처럼 산타듀크 지공다스도 피니쉬에 침이 고이게 하는 신맛이 있지만 강하지는 않다. 남부 론 더 찾아봐야지.”
Show original
“leather earthy blackberry oak vanilla licorice cherry minerals stone grass rose 좋은 아로마에 팔렛에서는 남부론 특징이 도드라지게 수수하게 다가오다가 장미아로마가 꽃이 피듯 뒤늦게 다가온다. 바로 전에 먹었던 보카스텔처럼 산타듀크 지공다스도 피니쉬에 침이고이게 하는 신맛이 있지만 강하지는 않다. 남부론 더~~ 찾아봐야지~~^^”
What I learned today: some aromas only come to the people who wait.
Tuesday. Master Seo poured a little into a glass, set it on the counter and told me not to smell it yet. Go switch on the sign first. I went out to the alley, turned on the light, straightened the sandwich board and gave the doorstep a sweep. It took about twenty minutes.
Only then did I pick up the glass. Leather, wet earth, blackberry, licorice. Something like stone underneath. So far it had the same grain as yesterday's kitchen memory. But after I swallowed and was about to set the glass down, a rose bloomed, late. It hadn't been there at first. That late rose opened the first half of the night I'd opened yesterday.
Twenty-one, spring, a Saturday night of on-and-off rain, the kitchen table. The first bottle of the very night I remembered yesterday. Dad poured me some and told me not to drink it yet. Leave the glass on the table until I've finished the dishes. I sat with my chin in my hand, just watching the glass. When the water stopped and Dad came back drying his hands, a flower smell had risen from the glass. With this bottle the flowers come late, he said, so only the people who wait get to smell them. I don't know the name of the bottle.
I unfolded the corner I'd turned down yesterday. The first entry under the same date. Dad wrote that it comes across modestly, southern Rhône-like, and then "the rose aroma arrives late, like a flower opening." Like the Beaucastel he'd had just before, the finish has a mouth-watering acidity, but not a strong one. So from Friday's spicy dinner to Saturday's two bottles, Dad had been walking the same road for days. The last line is a promise to look for more southern Rhône. Four stars. The bottle was Domaine Santa Duc Gigondas Hautes Garrigues. I stuck on the wine-name Post-it.
Master Seo said Gigondas is Châteauneuf-du-Pape's neighbouring village, with jagged rocky hills at its back. One family has run this house for over a hundred and fifty years, and Hautes Garrigues is said to be an old vineyard worked up when the village put land up for auction. It's Grenache with Mourvèdre, and the late flowers are probably the Mourvèdre's doing, he said. Maybe that night Dad used the dishes as an excuse to give me time.
Minjae came late and got what was left in the glass. On the fourteenth page of the new notebook I wrote the name, and beside the aroma box: "twenty minutes later". What I learned today: some aromas only come to the people who wait.
What this wine is
Gigondas is a southern Rhône village not far from Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Domaine Santa Duc was founded here in 1874 and is in its sixth generation under the Gras family. Importers count Yves Gras among the strongest personalities in the southern Rhône. From around 2006 he shortened fermentations and brought in temperature control, softening the house's once rugged, austere style. His son Benjamin Gras now runs it, having studied oenology in Burgundy and worked at Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Vega Sicilia before coming home.
Hautes Garrigues is the flagship cuvée. The importer Alliance Wine describes the vineyard as old parcels worked up after the village council put land up for auction around 1852 — stony ground of gravel and red clay. The blend is 65% Grenache and 35% Mourvèdre (importer Trialto, for the 2016), with the Mourvèdre share rising in recent vintages. It is aged for 18 months.
The name on this bottle's label, 'Prestige des Hautes Garrigues', is the old one; it is now sold as 'Les Hautes Garrigues'. The house also has vines in Châteauneuf-du-Pape today, and is certified organic and biodynamic.
What the world says
The six critic reviews gathered on Wine-Searcher aggregate to 90. Vivino carries a single pre-bottling barrel score of 92–94 (Dec 2013, publication not shown). The critics rate it well, without piling up in one direction.
The community is more generous. On Vivino this vintage averages 4.2 from 122 ratings, and the label as a whole 4.2 from 1,529. Most raters gave it 4 (84), with 23 fives. The 2010 and 2007 are the highest at 4.3, and vintage averages from 1998 to 2016 range from 3.9 to 4.3.
The aroma keywords run leather, earth and mushroom (94 mentions), blackberry and black fruit (88), oak, vanilla and chocolate (74), pepper and licorice (52), and red fruit and cherry (41). Structure: acidity 3.3/5, intensity 4.0, tannin 3.3, sweetness 2.0. Several reviews say it stands comparison with Châteauneuf-du-Pape for less money.
"This wine overdelivers!" — Vivino review, Feb 2020, 4.0
How I drank it
April 4, 2020, 4 stars. I wrote down leather, earth, blackberry, oak, vanilla, licorice, cherry, minerals, stone, grass and rose — eleven, the most in any note from around then.
It was the evening after Château de Beaucastel, when I wanted to know more about the southern Rhône. I opened this bottle first, then Domaine Singla's El Molí. The aromas were good, and on the palate the southern Rhône character came across modestly. Then a rose aroma came in late, like a flower opening. That late rose is why I remember this bottle.
Like the Beaucastel, it had a mouth-watering acidity at the end, but not a strong one. I gave the Beaucastel 4.5 and this bottle 4; I think the half-point was the length of that acidity. I ended the note by saying I should look for more southern Rhône. My 4 is almost exactly Vivino's 4.2, and not far from the critics' 90 either.
Where this wine shows up
Domaine Santa Duc was founded in Gigondas in 1874 and is in its sixth generation under the Gras family. It is now run by Benjamin Gras, who studied oenology in Burgundy.
Alliance Wine — Domaine Santa Duc · Trialto — Domaine Santa Duc
Artwork and stills are not reproduced for copyright reasons; scenes are summarised.
Vivino community data
2012 vintage rating distribution (122 ratings, average 4.2)
| 5★ | 23 (19%) | |
| 4★ | 84 (69%) | |
| 3★ | 13 (11%) | |
| 2★ | 2 (2%) | |
| 1★ | 0 (0%) |
Most-mentioned aromas
| Family | Mentions | Top keywords |
|---|---|---|
| Earth & leather | 94 | leather 21 · earthy 20 · mushroom 11 · smoke 8 · tar 8 |
| Black fruit | 88 | blackberry 22 · black fruit 12 · blackcurrant 11 · black cherry 9 · plum 9 |
| Oak | 74 | oak 20 · vanilla 12 · chocolate 11 · tobacco 9 · dark chocolate 7 |
| Spice | 52 | pepper 17 · licorice 15 · white pepper 5 · cinnamon 3 · rosemary 3 |
| Red fruit | 41 | red fruit 11 · cherry 10 · strawberry 6 · raspberry 5 · red currant 3 |
Structure: Acidity 3.3/5 · Intensity 4.0/5 · Tannin 3.3/5 · Sweetness 2.0/5
Average by vintage (all vintages: 1529 ratings, average 4.2)
| Vintage | Average | Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 4.2 | 36 |
| 2000 | 4.1 | 50 |
| 2001 | 4.2 | 44 |
| 2004 | 3.9 | 83 |
| 2005 | 4.1 | 83 |
| 2006 | 4.2 | 85 |
| 2007 | 4.3 | 179 |
| 2009 | 4.2 | 112 |
| 2010 | 4.3 | 131 |
| 2011 | 4.2 | 227 |
| 2012 | 4.2 | 122 |
| 2013 | 3.9 | 67 |
| 2014 | 4.1 | 41 |
| 2015 | 3.9 | 56 |
| 2016 | 4.1 | 66 |
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→Frequently asked questions
What kind of wine is Domaine Santa Duc Hautes Garrigues?
Domaine Santa Duc's flagship red, made from Grenache and Mourvèdre in Gigondas in the southern Rhône. The 2012 is 15% alcohol, 4.2 on Vivino (122 ratings), with a Wine-Searcher critic aggregate of 90. It used to be labelled 'Prestige des Hautes Garrigues'.
How much does it cost?
Wine-Searcher's world average is US$93 per 750ml (ex-tax, Sep 2026). The 2012 ranges widely across five overseas retailers, from US$51.99 (USA, ex-tax) to US$122.22 (Malaysia).
What food goes with it?
The Vivino community suggests beef, lamb and game. Full-bodied and deep in leather, earth and licorice, it suits herb-roasted lamb or stews.
How is Gigondas different from Châteauneuf-du-Pape?
Both are Grenache-led southern Rhône village wines, and the villages aren't far apart. Gigondas is a hillside village backed by rocky peaks, and many reviews say its wines stand comparison with Châteauneuf-du-Pape for less money. From the same producer, Wine-Searcher averages this bottle at US$93 and the house's Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau Ouest at US$106.
Links & sources
View on Vivino · Prices on Wine-Searcher
- Vivino — wine page and community data
- Alliance Wine — Domaine Santa Duc, Gigondas Les Hautes Garrigues 2020
- Trialto — Domaine Santa Duc, Gigondas Les Hautes Garrigues 2016
- Wine-Searcher — 2012 Domaine Santa Duc Gigondas Les Hautes Garrigues
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