2007 Domaine les Pallières Gigondas Terrasse du Diable- France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Gigondas (1/11/2022)
Shockingly interesting and good 2007. This was the first year Pallieres was split into two cuvees. I last had the Racines 10 months ago and found it…acceptable. The recently opened Terrasse du Diable was much better, with a caveat. On night 1 it was herbal with mineral, menthol and a terribly off-putting metallic note, which made me wonder if I was asymptomatic covid-positive. On night 2 this came across with green herbs, raspberry and a pleasant stony finish. There is a hint of warmer dark fruit, but it’s more an afterthought. Easily the finest Pallieres of any vintage that I have had, and the best 2007 southern Rhone I have drunk in the last 8-10 years. Excellent. (92 pts.)
I agree that this wine was quite a bit better than the Racines, which to me seemed to suffer quite a bit from a roasty 2007-ness. On the other hand I’ve never found this wine to be anywhere close to the quality of the better CdPs from 2007, like VT, Beaucastel or Pegau (and to be fair, it cost 30-50% less). My value of the vintage is the 2007 Ch. des Tours CdR which was $20 at the time and is still excellent.
I have one bottle left of the Diable and will have to excavate it.
What did you eat with it (if anything) on night 1? Could that have been the issue? I get something that I’d describe as “a terribly off-putting metallic note” when drinking just about any red with certain cured meats, particularly things like Prosciutto and Jamon. From discussions in other threads, it appears this is a known thing that affects some (minority) percentage of the population.
I haven’t had the Beaucastel or Pegau, and the VT has left me wanting. Last one I had was last year. For me, I want to wait a couple more years on the VT, since I find them way better at the 17-20 year mark.
I had cranberry beans with garlic and a small amount of epazote and oregano. FWIW I don’t ever recall getting such a metallic taste from a Southern Rhone before.
I found my bottle and opened it. I think it’s a fairly attractive 2007 and has aged well but it definitely comes down on the overripe side for me.
If I understand the “metallic” flaw people are describing here, I’ve always believed it’s some form of Brett, but I’ve found that I’m much more sensitive to that particular aspect than some of my friends. I’ve been in several tastings and dinners where a wine was undrinkable to me due to the metallic aftertaste, but several other tasters found it palatable and sometimes it was even a favorite wine. I don’t have any proof that it’s Brett. In general I’ve been fairly Brett tolerant but I’ve encountered this flaw mostly in wines that have a reputation for Brett, for example I usually love Ch. de Beaucastel but had one 1989 that was a heavy leaker, very low fill, and displayed this characteristic. I had a whole case of Vieux Mas des Papes that was spoiled by it, and some late release 1990 Bosquets des Papes. I’ve had the experience with a number of low sulfur wines as well.
I had pulled a bottle of the 2007 les Paillieres ‘Terrasse du Diable’ [Gigondas] from long term storage some months ago and had a couple glasses last night. I think this grenache dominant blend is great! It’s a firm, structured, grippy – and in a word that will surely offend – masculine big abv SoRho that might surprise those who are determined to dislike those varietal blends. I didn’t find any metallic, tinny notes which can sometimes happen with bottle aging of scorched grapes. There is a fine raspberry fruited palate, with a layer of licorice/fennel here too, and then just a touch of funky sauvage. Acidity feels low here, tannins are still out in force but a great Gigondas for fans of the AOC. Solid A in my ledger. My example was a KLWM import, for what that’s worth. PS: Day 2, tannins had moderated but are still there.
