Gigondas sits under the limestone teeth of the Dentelles de Montmirail, three hundred metres higher than Châteauneuf-du-Pape and noticeably cooler. Grenache dominates, with Syrah and Mourvèdre required in the blend.

The altitude preserves acidity and gives the wines a firmer, more upright shape than their neighbours. They repay a decade in the cellar. Vacqueyras lies immediately south on warmer, sandier soil.