New Vintages from Clos de la Roilette: Fleurie at it's Finest!
New Wines from Clos de la Roilette
“Alain Coudert’s Clos de la Roilette is a longtime favorite Fleurie producer whose wines should not be overshadowed by newer, more faddish names.” -Eric Asimov, The New York Times, April 2016
If you're confused by what "Cru" Beaujolais means or think that "isn't Beaujolais that colorful bottle that comes out in the holiday season?" Please stop reading now. This offer just isn't for you. Don't get upset and sue me for wine discrimination. We can still co-exist in some other way.
But, this offer is for those who truly know and appreciate higher level Beaujolais. Beaujolais that sings, stings; dances and prances. Beaujolais with a time and place that knows where it comes from and where it's going. The Howard Roark of Cru Beaujolais.
Clos de la Roilette is one of 5 Beaujolais that can truly age like a fine Burgundy; shedding the baby fat and becoming a golden, silky queen of a wine. One bedroom apartment dwellers have no fear. You have my permission to drink this now with a few hours open in the bottle. I won't even ask who the guests are.....
“Alain Coudert’s Clos de la Roilette is a longtime favorite Fleurie producer whose wines should not be overshadowed by newer, more faddish names.” -Eric Asimov, The New York Times, April 2016
If you're confused by what "Cru" Beaujolais means or think that "isn't Beaujolais that colorful bottle that comes out in the holiday season?" Please stop reading now. This offer just isn't for you. Don't get upset and sue me for wine discrimination. We can still co-exist in some other way.
But, this offer is for those who truly know and appreciate higher level Beaujolais. Beaujolais that sings, stings; dances and prances. Beaujolais with a time and place that knows where it comes from and where it's going. The Howard Roark of Cru Beaujolais.
Clos de la Roilette is one of 5 Beaujolais that can truly age like a fine Burgundy; shedding the baby fat and becoming a golden, silky queen of a wine. One bedroom apartment dwellers have no fear. You have my permission to drink this now with a few hours open in the bottle. I won't even ask who the guests are.....
- 10% off 6, 15% of 12
- Ready to Ship First Week of September
2018 Clos de la Roilette Fleurie Cuvee Christie
Sale Price: $22.99
Being on the border of the Moulin-à-Vent cru, the core of Roilette’s Fleurie terroir is atypical of most of Fleurie, rich in clay and manganese; that said, there are two estate parcels (named Champagne and Deduets) composed of the more expected all-granite soils. These 30-to-40-year-old vines are the source of the Cuvée Christie bottling, which vigneron Alain Coudert initiated in the 1999 vintage. It is the most delicate and pretty of the Roilette line-up, its more moderate tannins, light body and shorter maceration rendering it ready to enjoy sooner than the rest of them.
2018 Clos de la Roilette Fleurie
Sale Price: $23.99
This bottling comes from vines averaging 30 to 45 years old. The fruit is hand harvested and fermented in whole clusters with native yeasts, kicking off Roilette’s version of traditional Beaujolais semi-carbonic vinification. The temperature-controlled fermentation takes place in open-top neutral vats with the cap kept submerged; the maceration for the Fleurie is approximately 14 days. Aging takes places in vat until bottling in the following summer.
2018 Clos de la Roilette Fleurie Cuvee Tardive (large bottles available upon request)
Sale Price: $28.99
The oldest estate vines, at around 80 years old, go into the Cuvée Tardive bottling. It is the concentration and structure of the wine that gave rise to its “Tardive” or “late” moniker: it is not late-harvested fruit but rather the wine meant to be enjoyed later, with more aging in the bottle, versus the rest of the Roilette line-up. As on the rest of the estate, the Tardive vines are farmed sustainably by lutte raisonnée and the soils worked by hand, only twice a year and very carefully in order to not do damage to roots of these old vines. The fruit is manually harvested and fermented in whole clusters with native yeasts, kicking off Roilette’s version of traditional Beaujolais semi-carbonic vinification. The temperature-controlled fermentation takes place in open-top neutral vats with the cap kept submerged; the maceration for Tardive is approximately 18 days. Aging takes place mainly in old foudres until bottling the following summer.
2017 Clos de la Roilette Fleurie Griffe du Marquis
Sale Price: $41.99
What every Beaujolais aspires to be in this doggy dog world. Aged in two to six year-old Burgundy barrels from vines that are 80 plus years old. The result is in the palate: textured, lively, gorgeous and encapsulating with velvety, golden black berry fruit, hints of herbs and licorice with soft, delicate tannins that float like a baby deer across a snow capped suburban lawn. Most of the oldest estate vines go into the Cuvée Tardive bottling; a portion of this elder parcel goes into the Griffe du Marquis, Roilette’s only barrique-aged wine. As on the rest of the estate, these old vines are farmed sustainably by lutte raisonnée and the soils worked by hand, only twice a year and very carefully in order to not do damage to the old roots. The fruit is manually harvested and fermented in whole clusters with native yeasts, kicking off Roilette’s version of traditional Beaujolais semi-carbonic vinification. The temperature-controlled fermentation takes place in open-top neutral vats with the cap kept submerged; the maceration for Griffe is approximately two weeks. Aging takes place in 2-to-8-year-old barriques. The wine is released later than the rest of the line-up, so it is always one vintage “behind” their current releases and is the tightest structurally upon release. Griffe du Marquis is also by far the smallest production of all Roilette wines.