"The 2017 Gigondas Le Plateau is another unusual blend for a Gigondas and is all Mourvèdre that was not destemmed and was aged in three older demi-muids. It has thrilling blue fruits, crushed violets, exotic flowers, and peppery notes that develop with time in the glass. These carry to a full-bodied Gigondas that packs serious fruit, texture, and tannins while staying perfectly balanced and elegant. It's a thrilling wine and up with the top releases from the Southern Rhône. Give bottles 2-4 years and enjoy over the following decade or more." Jeb Dunnuck

"Only two demi-muids of the Mourvèdre-based 2017 Gigondas Le Plateau were produced. That's a shame, as it boasts amazing perfumes of licorice, roses and strawberries. It's full-bodied in the mouth, with ample concentration and a rich mouthfeel, adding notes of sous-bois and even more red fruit. Remarkable stuff that's becoming a cult favorite. Tasted twice, with consistent notes." RP

Avec le millésime 2016, Julien met sur le marché un nouveau « parcellaire ». Celle-ci provient d'un vignoble légèrement exposé au nord, un peu plus bas que « La Colline ». Cette parcelle est plantée de Mourvèdre de plus de 60 ans d'âge. Pour la première fois, Julien a vinifié cette parcelle séparément avec une vendange tardive et en vendange entière avec un élevage sur demi-muids. Nous l'avons récemment dégusté en barrique et, bien qu'il soit encore très jeune, nous soupçonnons déjà que cette cuvée va également faire fureur. Malgré le 100% Mourvèdre, on ne décèle pratiquement pas de notes animales avec une touche de fraîcheur, en partie grâce à la situation de la parcelle, mais certainement aussi grâce à la vendange entière. Un vin très puissant et corsé, plus ou moins dans le style des meilleurs Bandol. Un vin particulièrement réussi, décalé et plein de caractère, à ne pas manquer.

"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