Paul Fumoso with his two vineyard assistants.
Since coming home to work at his family’s domaine full-time in 2018, Paul Fumoso—with mom Stéphanie by his side—has steered Gour de Chaulé to new heights, and the wines of this stalwart Gigondas estate are more popular stateside than ever. A fiercely intelligent, passionately opinionated young grower, Paul has synthesized the deeply traditional approach of his mother and grandmother with his own personal aesthetic—one which revels in Grenache’s underappreciated capacity for finesse, purity, and mineral articulacy.
Under Paul’s care, the domaine’s workhorse Gigondas “Tradition” has retained its rugged, spice-driven character, but it seems to soar more now; tannins are less chewy, more kinetic, and more seamlessly integrated. In addition to this cuvée which comprises the large majority of Gour de Chaulé’s output, Paul has introduced two jaw-dropping new pure-Grenache bottlings from some of the domaine’s oldest vines, and he has resurrected the luscious, evocative, saignée style of rosé which Stéphanie eschewed in years past, giving it greater depth through gentler handling and longer aging.
These three newly realized wines from Paul, slated to reach our shores in the coming days, offer a thrilling lens into Grenache’s expressive capabilities, and given their highly limited nature we encourage prompt action.
2022 Gigondas “La Numero Huit”: “La Numero Huit” is pure Grenache from one of Gour de Chaulé’s oldest parcels: 100-year-old vines, a portion of which are ungrafted, planted in sandy limestone soil just across the street from the winery itself. Fermented spontaneously with 60% whole clusters, the 2022 “La Numero Huit” emphasizes elegance over power; to that end, Paul favors a gentle but long extraction and ages the wine in cement egg for 12 months with minimal sulfur additions. The result is a testament to Grenache’s capacity for finesse: an energetic, mineral-drenched wine that puts one in the mind of the sand-grown Grenache of the legendary Château Rayas—an estate Paul holds in the highest esteem. As for the name of the cuvée, 8 is Paul’s favorite number—one that crops up regularly in this numerologically attuned young man’s life.
2022 Gigondas “Le Gour”: The sibling of “La Numero Huit” above, “Le Gour” employs similar methods—a long and gentle extraction, a high proportion of whole clusters (60% in 2022), a year’s worth of aging in cement egg with minimal sulfur—with vines from a notably different terroir: 80-year-old Grenache planted in the Le Gour vineyard’s limestone-rich clay. The 2022 “Le Gour” offers a minerality simultaneously refined and punchy, with lip-smacking tannins and a remarkable sense of acid-driven focus. Here again one feels Grenache’s capacity for finesse and precision; it is a wine of beautifully executed intentionality from young Paul Fumoso.
2023 Gigondas Rosé: In his reimagining of Gour de Chaulé’s rosé, Paul aims to move away from ultra-crisp, barely pink Côtes-de-Provence mimicry and into a wine that offers the true textures and sensory elements of Grenache grown in Gigondas’ distinctive soils—as he puts it, a “rosé gourmand.” To that end, he picks the fruit fully ripe, macerating batches from six to 72 hours and allowing for spontaneous fermentation of the saignée; he does not block malolactic fermentation (although it did not occur in 2023), and he keeps sulfur additions to a minimum. Rather than a quick passage in stainless steel, Paul employs a proper élevage: 10 months in Stockinger foudre and demi-muid before a gentle bottling. Comprising 70% Grenache, 20% Cinsault, and 10% Mourvèdre, the 2023 offers a lifted, gorgeous perfume full of purple flowers and wispy spices, with a palate both fresh and sappy; clocking in at a reasonable 14% alcohol, it is a stunning achievement and a testament to Paul’s already masterful touch.
More on Gour de Chaulé here.
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