Domaine Les Pallières

Domaine Les Pallières, nestling in the foothills of the beautiful and brooding Dentelles de Montmirail, is undeniably one of the greatest, longest-running properties of the Southern Rhône. The vineyards range from 250-400 meters in altitude, with varying proportions of sand and clay interwoven with limestone scree descending from the Dentelles. When the Brunier family purchased the domaine back in 1998 this great property had fallen on hard times. Years of painstaking work in the vineyards followed. Terraces were built and reinforced, allowing for better water retention. A new winery was built to receive the harvested parcels individually in gravityfed tanks. Finally as the Bruniers began to fully understand the vineyards at Pallieres the many lieux-dits, once blended into one cuvée of Gigondas, were separated into two, starting with the 2007 vintage, in an effort to best express two remarkable personalities. Cuvée “Terrasse du Diable,” encompasses the low-yielding vines from the higher altitudes that express great structure and intense minerality. Cuvée “Les Racines” showcases the vineyard parcels surrounding the winery—the origin of the domaine with the oldest vines—with the emphasis on freshness and extravagant cornucopian fruit.

A warm, integrated and generous wine, showing bright red and some purple notes in the glass. The nose is full and forward, showing high levels of ripeness and sweet red fruits, layered with wet stones, some menthol and a sprinkling of roasted herbs and coffee. The palate is full, generous, and warm, again with layers of creamy red and black fruits, coffee, roasted meat and a generous spicy character and the tannins are almost silky, enveloping the sweet red fruit core, spice with the oak very much in the background. The finish is long, warm and even, with an almost brooding quality that seems to build rather than melt away. A stony streak of minerality and a lick of freshness complete this wonderful wine.

Especially good with lamb, veal or beef, either cooked or grilled. Also offers a great match to many strong cheeses.

Produced in exactly the same way as its sister wine, the only difference being its terroir. The grapes are handpicked and particaly destemmed before fermentation in concrete and oak tanks. After a period of 10 months ageing in concrete vats, the wine is aged in large oak foudres for a period of 10 months. It is then bottled without filtration.