{"product_id":"pierre-paillard-cote-rotie-2023","title":"Pierre Gaillard, Côte-Rôtie 2023","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis jaw-dropping, awe-striking wine is made by one of the great winemakers living in the Rhône Valley today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is incredibly complex, svelte and velvety smooth, with silky tannins and a vast array of subtle, expressive, heady aromas. It has a long, long finish with dense ripe flavours of pepper, violet, blackberry and notes of Parma ham and white peach blossom.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHand-picked grapes are de-stemmed and cold-macerated before natural fermentation and ageing (with malo-lactic fermentation) in oak barrels for 18 months (about a third of the barrels are new).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCôte Rôtie is an appellation that delivers some of the most exquisite Syrah and Viognier anywhere in the world. The vines are grown in a variety of soils, each in clearly defined sections of the zone, with heavily studied topographic maps showing the huge volume of research that has been carried-out in order to equip winemakers with the highest level of understanding and knowledge of this paradise-like corner of the northern Rhône. The appellation spreads across three communes and gets its name from the fact that it is set on remarkably steep south-east-facing slopes that get long, long hours of sunshine - the slopes (Côtes) are almost literally roasted (Rôtie). However, as it is the most northerly of the fine subzones of the northern Rhône, the grapes are less prone to overripeness that some of its neighbours. This section of the Rhône is also marked out by the cooling impact of the Mistral winds that blow long into the spring in most season, preventing disease. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is a relatively small region, long and thin, stretching for about six miles along the river in length and  spreading little more than a kilometre at its widest point. It is the steepness of the sloes that again give it the magic - at inclines of up to 70 degrees and regularly over 60, you can see how the area of vineyard is radically larger than the area covered on a conventional map (think Pythagoras...). In total there are 202 hectares of vineyard in the region, often planted with high density - Pierre plants at about 10,000 plants per hectare. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCôte Rôtie is most clearly divided into two sections that are marked by their soil types; a larger north and smaller south. The north is made of iron rich schist and is called the Côte Brune (because the iron content makes the soils reddy-brown in colour) and the south is a gneiss-based mica-rich granitic area, called the Côte Blond (because the soils are visibly light). Pierre has plots in both, but this comes from only schist soils. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe presence of Viognier is one of the truly special and sometimes mystifying elements of Côte Rôtie. This rare white variety can make up to 20% of a blend in the appellation, but rarely takes up more than 10%, as is the case for this wine, and sometimes isn't included at all (winemakers' discretion). When it is part of the blend, it legally has to be co-fermented with the Syrah (which can be problematic given the potential for differing ripening times of the two grapes) and it is during the fermentation that a particular chemical process creates an alchemy-like reaction in the wine. Viognier is white and quite rich and oily as a wine style; but when it co-ferments with Syrah, the particular compounds in Viognier's skins seem to leach onto the anthocyanins in Syrah and extract more colour from: them rather than making the wine lighter in colour, it makes it \u003cem\u003edarker\u003c\/em\u003e and shinier, while creating a juicy glycerous-like texture that you just don't get anywhere else. The flavours are also fascinating with this blend as you retain the meaty, butcher-block, spice and dark fruit notes from the Syrah core and then decorate it with notes of apricot jam and both light and dark blossom. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI first met Pierre in a wine fair in Germany (that's me in the photo looking very happy next to Pierre - I'm on tiptoes...) after I had started working with one of his projects that aimed to highlight the wines from even further north of Côte Rôtie into the hinterland of the Seyssuel. He is a big chap and has very large, strong and powerful hands. But what bowled me over was just how gentle, kind and patient this man was, and how this was totally reflected in his wines. They are elegant and refined and perfumed and attractive - all over-delivering at their price-point, which in truth is just an added bonus. I met him again just as the harvest was beginning in 2025 and he was the same gentle giant, only this time in his home (that's us tasting together in his \"office\"), I met two of his children - Pierre-Antoine, who had just come in from harvesting in Condrieu; and Jeanne, who has begun growing and vinifying her own vines in the last ten years. They share the same humility and obsessive-like quest to understand the soils of their regions that their father has, adding a new layer to this captivating story, a beautiful part of the fabric of this incredible appellation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2023 presented a number of climate-related challenges in Europe, the Rhône included. A very dry winter, heavy spring rains and a colossal heat-wave in the summer. These factors meant that winemakers had to adapt and react constantly in order to protect the vines and grapes. However, Pierre has been here before and the quality of grapes was outstanding, largely helped by a dry and warm (if very quick) harvest. Places like Côte Rôtie are higher in altitude were able to benefit from a wide diurnal range, keeping colour and acidity, sugars and size all in balance in each of the bunches of grapes. It was at times a wild vintage, but there is good volume of wine and the quality is very fine indeed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhilippe Pellaton, President of Inter Rhône, notes: “Weather conditions were more chaotic in the North than in the South of the Rhône Valley, leading to a shorter harvest. That being said, both quality and quantity are there, throughout the region. The 2023 vintage for the wines of AOC Côtes du Rhône and the Rhône Valley Vineyards appears to be a great vintage for blending: full, dense, balanced and with lovely acidity levels.”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Alliance","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55453067444558,"sku":"GAILLARDCOTEROTIE23","price":79.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0512\/4082\/9106\/files\/3_b96354ef-ad66-483a-af88-19e6920ae03b.png?v=1773136985","url":"https:\/\/www.theallotment.ie\/products\/pierre-paillard-cote-rotie-2023","provider":"The Allotment Wine Company","version":"1.0","type":"link"}