“A new cuvée made from a parcel selection of old vine Mourvèdre (there are smaller amounts of Syrah, Cinsault and Grenache) planted on a north-facing, limestone plateau, the 2016 Gigondas Le Plateau sports an inky purple color as well as more black and blue fruits, loads of pepper and garrigue like nuances, full-bodied richness, and a thick, opulent, unctuous texture. It's a singular beauty that has building tannin and loads of potential, and I can't wait to taste this from bottle.” Jeb Dunnuck

"Bright violet. Expressive blackberry, cassis, incense and spicecake scents show impressive clarity and pick up a smoky mineral nuance with air. Sweet and seamless in the mouth, offering deeply concentrated red and dark fruit preserve, star anise and violet pastille flavors that are given focus and spine by a core of juicy acidity. Deftly blends richness and finesse and finishes extremely long and sappy; pliant tannins add shape and grip." Vinous

"Virtually all Mourvèdre (there are a few Grenache and Syrah vines mixed in), the 2016 Gigondas Le Plateau was fermented as whole bunches and developed an exotic nose, ranging from hints of flowers and herbs to fraises des bois, cherries, plums and pineapple. It's full-bodied and rich, with a supple mid-palate and firm tannins on the finish. Tasted twice, with consistent notes." RP

"Proprietor Julien Brechet is redefining Gigondas through his exploration of selections parcellaires, which are essentially monovarietal. Le Lieu Dit and La Colline are Grenache, Le Plateau is Mourvèdre and Les Routes is Syrah. The blended cuvée remains an assemblage of four varieties and represents an outstanding value. Brechet is pleased with the quality he's been able to achieve the past few vintages but says he's always striving to do better. On this visit, he poured a couple of older vintages so we could look at his progress, saying that he felt he'd made mistakes at times in the past. Of the La Colline, Brechet says, "Before it was impressive, now it's expressive." One of the keys to the quality he was able to achieve in 2018, he says, was the use of destemming, which he now varies considerably from year to year (in 2017, he used as much as 30% whole clusters). Brechet considers 2018 to be a year that favored Grenache, comparing it to 2006 and 2012. That said, I remain impressed by his Les Routes (Syrah), which has become one of the Southern Rhône's greatest examples of that variety—worth noting is that the genetic material is a sélection massale from Fonsalette, which is said to originate from cuttings provided by the Chave family. Equally impressive is the Châteauneuf-du-Pape Brechet bottles from a tiny patch of 100-year-old vines farmed for him by his brother Laurent (Château de Vaudieu). "The signature of the estate is the finesse," Brechet says." RP