CÔTE RÔTIE
2018 Champon Domaine Clusel-Roch
This is a new wine in the range for Guillaume, they have separated out a parcel of 60 year old vines here in a parcel they've been renting for 35 years. The soil in Le Champon is a mix of Limestone and Schistes and it faces east high up on the plateau. Tasted after the Vialliere - this immediately has more grunt and drive. Not as pretty perhaps as Vialliere, and not as richly welcoming as the Schistes - this is more serious, more savoury, more darkly lit. But it is delicious. This is a great innovation here by Guillaume, the fruit used to be entirely blended into the Les Schistes, but the Champon really does have its own character. A tang of red fruit, earth and rock run through with a darker line. This is a smart, more intense expression of Côte Rôtie, deftly done. Drinking range: 2026 - 2035L&S (Feb 2020)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
Vibrant blackberry and cherry aromas are complemented by hints of incense, cracked pepper and exotic spices. Taut and focused on entry, then fleshier in the midpalate, offering intense dark fruit and floral flavors and a hint of spiciness. Shows impressive energy on the sappy, mineral-dominated finish, which features harmonious tannins and a suave floral quality. This is the first vintage for this bottling here. Rating: 94-95 Josh Raynolds, www.vinousmedia.com (May 2020)
Domaine Clusel-Roch
From the 1950s to 1980 René and Josephine Clusel grew fruit and vegetables as well as grapes in Côte-Rôtie. Their son, Gilbert, with his wife Brigitte Roch, started to focus solely on the vineyards, and expanded the domaine a little.
Guillaume, Brigitte and Gilbert's son, joined the domaine in 2009 and is now in charge. He added significantly to the vineyard area, but mostly with the addition of Gamay in the Coteaux du Lyonnais. While the property is around 13 hectares, they still have only five hectares in Côte-Rôtie and just half a hectare in Condrieu. The vines are planted on terraces along the Côte-Rôtie, in the classic local style with two wooden stakes tied above each vine to help protect against the region's occasionally howling winds.
They were the first domaine to fully embrace organic practices and have been certified since 2002. They are a shining example of what can be achieved by hard work in the vineyards and truly artisan winemaking; their wines express the very best of this unique terroir up in the northern sector of Côte-Rôtie.
Les Schistes is the very approachable young cuvée from a selection of all plots, whilst the remaining cuvées are all single lieu dits. Annual production of Côte-Rôtie here still hovers at about 1250 cases per year. These are beautifully made wines with a very pure expression of place from this great region.
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