2017 Château d'Or et de Gueules Les Cimels Rouge Costières de Nîmes 750 ml

The 2017 Château d’Or et de Gueules Les Cimels Rouge is the kind of wine that can earn a small winery from the South of France a place among the world’s best. 

The Wine Access members who got in on our first release rated this stunning red a whopping 4.5 out of 5 stars—ranking it alongside Châteauneuf-du-Pape all-stars that cost $60+ (including Château de Beaucastel). 

A full-bodied, rich, complex red for just $16.99—about half of what you’d pay on the higher-rent side of the Rhône—Les Cimels is a textbook example of what keeps red wine lovers (and us) coming back to the South of France.

This release is a hand-harvested blend of Syrah, Carignan, and Grenache grown organically in the same bright sunshine that blesses Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, and our favorite Rhône reds, it’s deep in color, boasting loads of ripe fruit accented by fresh-cracked pepper and herbes de Provence.

When we first encountered Château d’Or et de Gueules, the boutique French winery was pouring their wines alongside Antinori, Cristom, Guigal, Joseph Phelps, Ridge, and all the other world-class names honored as Wine & Spirits Top 100 Wineries. After one sip, we had no doubt that Château d’Or et de Gueules was in the right place. 

It’s no surprise that such a dynamic wine hails from the Costières de Nîmes appellation, where the Rhône region meets the Languedoc. In fact, Costières de Nîmes long fell under the jurisdiction of the latter, but two decades ago, the region’s growers made a very simple argument why their appellation should be attached to the Rhône: That’s the character that their wines, grown on rocky and garrigue-strewn hills, reflect best.  

This is clear when you glimpse the vineyards of Château d’Or et de Gueules, which consist of well-draining alluvial soils blanketed by galets. The gnarled vines poking out from between these heat-retaining pebbles immediately bring the famed vineyards of Châteauneuf-du-Pape to mind. But the winery’s location south of Nîmes, west of Arles (where Van Gogh produced 300 works in 15 months) gives it beautiful exposure to the Mediterranean, which means sea breezes that offer the vines relief from the hot sun. 

The cool nights also mean tons of freshness in the grapes. Wine Enthusiast called this an “invigorating red,” and it’s made even more so by an ultra-reverential treatment in the field and cellar. The estate is certified organic, and the wine is fermented on native yeast (the Carignan undergoes carbonic maceration) before two years of aging in tank, which rounds the edges but preserves the outstanding fruit character. 

It all adds up to an under-$20 red that more than deserves to be in the finest company. This is the perfect red with which to stock your cellar, because there’s no better way to impress on a budget.