95. Wild, garrigue herbs and dark berries in a fresh style with violets and dried roses. There‘s a savory, tarry, salt-licorice edge in the mouth. Moody wine. Silky, lozenge-like, glossy and polished tannins. Dark fruit and dark chocolate with a kick of bitter herbs. Finishes with impressive freshness and effortless depth. Charming. Drink or hold.
(92-94). Tasted prior to its July bottling, the 2016 Gigondas Terrasse du Diable is an outstanding effort. Fine garrigue nuances and piney scents bring depth and complexity to the ripe black cherry and raspberry fruit. Full-bodied, silky, long and elegant, with lingering thyme and savory notes on the finish, it shouldn’t be missed.
shows alluring cherry and damson plum fruit, and is focused and racy, all without the dusty structure that often lingered in earlier vintages.
(92-94). Bright violet. Ripe cherries and red berry liqueur on the perfumed nose, joined by a smoky nuance that builds in the backround. Shows impressive power and depth on the palate, offering sappy raspberry and candied cherry flavors complicated by hints of candied lavender and licorice. Finishes gently tannic and impressively long, delivering solid punch and leaving a sexy floral note behind.
DOMAINE LES PALLIERES TERRASSE DU DIABLE 2016 ****
(large barrel, bottling June 2018) shiny red robe. The nose kips along attractive red fruits, raspberry, with white pepper, rose muskiness. It is more fat than usual, also has spice and soaked cherries or griottes, dried herbs. The palate is also rich, textured, even unctuous, holds the abundance of 2016, the generosity, along with a good line of mineral, freshness, lift on the finish. It will develop well, has both flesh and depth. 15.2°.
From 2021. 2037-39 Oct 2017
(91 – 93). Both Gigondas bottlings look even better in 2016 than 2015, based on the prospective blends presented by Daniel Brunier when I visited Vieux Telegraphe. The Domaine Les Pallieres 2016 Gigondas Terrasse du Diable was remarkably expressive, velvety and long, with its blueberry, cherry and spice notes covering up any semblance of heat.
92-95. Starting with the 2016s, these are the finest wines I’ve tasted from this estate. The 2016 Gigondas Terrasses du Diable comes from higher elevation, limestone soils and is a full-bodied, tight, focused effort that has bright acidity, masses of tannin and classic notes of black cherries, leafy herbs, pepper and searing minerality. It’s terrific but will benefit from a few years of bottle age.