The Movement · Bordeaux red

Gigue2021

Still maturing in our cellar — released only in its drinking phase.

Arriving

Like an early evening beneath old olive trees.

Powerful and rich in tannin, kept in motion by lively fruit.

Quick, full of verve and with strength in every step – that is how a gigue sounds, and how this wine tastes.

A warm March brought early budbreak, then frost arrived in the night of 8 April. May stayed cold and wet; the second half of June brought heavy rainfall and with it downy mildew pressure that persisted into late summer. July and August were comparatively cool; only the warm first half of September brought final ripeness, and the harvest ran mostly in the first half of October. At 35 hl/ha, the Bordeaux crop came in almost a quarter below the average of the preceding decade. The reds of this vintage carry less alcohol, more acidity and red rather than black fruit.

Grape varieties: 62% Merlot, 17% Malbec, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc
Limitation: 8488
Ageing: Amphora, small share of barrique
Yield: 45 hl/ha
Analysis: 12.5 % vol · pH 3.6
Drinking window: 2027 – 2035
Serving temperature: 15–16 °C
Decanting: aerate 30–60 min

Evening beneath the olive trees

Gigue 2021, Bordeaux Rotwein – Flasche und Glas auf der Terrasse mit Blick auf die Olivenhügel, mit geschmortem Lamm und Polenta

The first glass

The flavour profile of Gigue 2021

Gigue smells of juicy cherry and violet, with a hint of white pepper. Gigue 2021 was the first vintage to mature in amphorae, with only a small share in barrique. On the palate it is powerful and rich in tannin, almost heavy, and yet it stays nimble because the fruit carries it. A red for the table, at 15–16 °C.

Why Gigue

A quick dance with weight.

A suite is a sequence of dances. Each has its own character, and only all together do they make the whole. That is how our estate is built: each cuvée is inspired by a movement of this suite and takes on the character of its form.The gigue is the quick, lively dance of the suite. In the classical suite it comes last; with us, it opens the reds. That is why this wine has power and tannin, and why its fruit sets it in motion. Dancing rather than marching, for Gigue, means energy despite weight.

Gigue is energy with weight: powerful, rich in tannin and kept in motion by its fruit.

Robert Schumann — Gigue, Op. 32

Still in the cellar · Matured in amphora

In the cellar since the 2021 harvest, the first vintage matured in amphora.

Aged in our own cellar.

Matured in the Domaine's cellar: in concrete vats up to the 2020 vintage, in amphorae since 2021, often with a small share in barrique. Then bottle ageing until we consider the wine ready to drink.

Cellar & Craft

Maturity — how it drinks today

Still maturing in the cellar

Expected to be ready to drink: around 2028

Optimal drinking window of Gigue 2021

2027 – 2035

Serving temperature 15–16 °C.

Our principles

Why we take the trouble

Ageing in our own cellar

Most of our wines go on sale only once they are ready to drink; until then they mature with us, and we carry the risk.

Composed plot by plot

Each plot is vinified separately; only at the end do we compose the cuvée from them.

Time as an ingredient

Depth takes time. We give the wines the years in barrel and bottle that they need.

Organic & HVE4

The Domaine's vineyards are certified organic and HVE4, set within a 19-hectare ecosystem of woodland, meadows, water and vines.

Gigue, Bordeaux Rotwein – Rebzeilen von LaSuite aux Conseillans

Die Parcelle 13 als Beispiel für das Terroir des Château LaSuite aux Conseillans in Bordeaux

The terroir and the wine it yields

Where it comes from

The Gigue draws on three plots and three soils. On the clay of plot C7 the Merlot takes root, carrying the fruit; the gravel of plot C13 — up to four fifths stone at depth — gives warmth, drainage and energy; and the clay-gravel of plot C12 brings the tension with Cabernet Sauvignon. This is how the Gigue stays juicy and supple while having a foundation that holds the fruit.

Which plots go into the blend is decided by the vintage; the assignment can therefore vary slightly from harvest to harvest.

Watercolour map of LaSuite aux Conseillans with the 16 numbered parcels, coloured by the four terroirs: clay, clay-gravel, gravel and sand — The 16 parcels of the Domaine, about five hectares of vines. The colours show our four terroirs.

The blend of Gigue 2021

4 Grape varieties

62%Merlot
17%Malbec
13%Cabernet Sauvignon
8%Cabernet Franc

Each plot is vinified separately; only at the end does the cuvée come together. More about our terroirs.

Precision & method

In the tradition of modern oenology

Aux Conseillans was for decades the Domaine of Jean Ribéreau-Gayon — one of the co-founders of modern oenology, founder of the Institute of Oenology at the University of Bordeaux (1949) and long-time owner of the estate. We work in that tradition: each plot analysed and vinified separately, the ageing guided under control, drinking maturity checked in a blind tasting.

The legacy of the oenologists

When the embers settle

Into a large glass at 15–16 °C, and a little time: that is how Gigue opens up to cherry, violet and white pepper.

Your evening

A wine for the table.

Dishes to pair

A selection from our recipe kitchen, matched to the structure and maturity of this wine.

Bistecca alla fiorentina – T-bone from the fire

Bœuf Bordelais – slow braised with gigue

Brasato di Silvio al Gigue – beef pot roast

Bucatini all'amatriciana

Carne de porco à alentejana, pork & clams

Confit de canard – beluga lentils & shallots

Grilled veal chop, sauce tonnata & capers

Foie de veau lyonnaise, sweet sherry glaze

All recipes

The mood to match the wine

A playlist for the moment

If you are a friend of classical music, here is a playlist that may suit your evening and the character of this wine. One possibility among many; listen in, if you like.

Sound of Gigue · Listen on Spotify

Ageing in bottle

Not yet ready to drink

Expected to be ready to drink: around 2028

For us, a vintage is ready to drink only once an internal blind tasting declares it so. When that will be, we ourselves never know exactly.

Ready to drink until then: Gigue 2016

Frequently Asked Questions · Gigue 2021

Good to know

When will Gigue 2021 be released?

Probably around 2028. We only release a vintage once an internal blind tasting has declared it ready to drink; we never know exactly when that will be ourselves.

How was Gigue 2021 aged?

As the first vintage in amphorae instead of concrete vats, still with a small share in barrique. This keeps the fruit in the foreground and the wood in the background.

Is the wine organic?

The Domaine is certified organic and HVE4 today. Gigue 2021 was made in a close-to-nature way but does not yet carry the official organic label: our wines may only bear it from the 2022 vintage onwards.

Technical data sheet · Gigue 2021

Technical data sheet, Gigue 2021, LaSuite aux Conseillans.
Wine	Gigue 2021
Estate	LaSuite aux Conseillans
Origin	Saint-Caprais-de-Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
Type	red wine
Appellation	AOC Cadillac
Grape varieties	62% Merlot, 17% Malbec, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc
Plots and soils	predominantly gravel, with clay
Yield	45 hl/ha
Ageing	Amphora, small share of barrique; then bottle ageing in our own cellar
Maturity	probably at its best from 2028
Analysis	12.5 % vol · pH 3.6
Edition	8488 bottles
Drinking window	2027 – 2035
Serving temperature	15–16 °C
Decanting	aerate 30–60 min
Viticulture	Domaine now organic- and HVE4-certified; this vintage was made naturally, before official organic certification.
Formats	0.75 L
Place in the Suite	Opens the reds of the Suite; “The Movement”
Musical reference	Robert Schumann — Gigue, Op. 32
Item number	LS-GIGU-21-075

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