Domaine Clusel-Roch Cote-Rotie "Les Schistes" red 2018

PRESENTATION OF DOMAINE CLUSEL ROCH
+ ALL ITS OTHER WINES IN STOCK

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Domaine Clusel-Roch Côte-Rôtie "Les Schistes" red 2018

RVF Guide to the Best Wines of France 2021 (Nov. 2020): 91/100. Driven by well-ripened fruit, the syrah expresses itself here in a confit style. The overall impression remains juicy. The ample palate, perhaps more spherical than the Côte-Rôties from the domaine, is a greeting to the sun. With their beneficial relief, the tannins refocus the whole.

Technical Sheet written by the domaine:

Terroir: lieux-dits "Viallière", "Champon", "le Plomb", all located in the northern part of the Côte-Rôtie Appellation, on iron-rich micaschist soils. These slopes are oriented Southeast.

Area: 3.5 ha

Grape variety: Over 95% Syrah from mass selection (old serines from Ampuis), and a few Viognier vines interplanted.

Age of the vines: 10 to 60 years

Vineyard management: we cultivate our vines as naturally as possible. The work is mainly manual, as the terrain prevents any large-scale mechanization. The density is over eight thousand vines per hectare. In winter, the soils remain naturally grassed. The vines are trained on stakes or wire depending on the slope's steepness. On stakes, they are pruned in goblet style, on wires in Royat cordon. The soils are worked in spring and summer. We do not use chemical fertilizers, but composted manures, and we treat only very moderately, without insecticides or synthetic chemicals. Our vines come from our own selections of old "serines" (traditional Syrah from Ampuis), which we graft at the domaine. These "serines" are less productive and yield grapes with more complex aromas than modern selections.

Vinification: the harvest is done by hand, in small crates. A careful selection is made in the vineyard by the harvesters. Upon arrival at the winery, the grapes are gravity-fed into the tanks; they are partially destemmed. Fermentation is done with indigenous yeasts. During vinification, pumping over and punching down are alternated. We maintain a moderate temperature for gentle extraction. We press after 3 to 4 weeks depending on tasting.

Aging: 2 years in oak barrels (228l cask), of which 15% is new fine-grained French oak benefiting from 4 years of drying.

Annual production: approximately 12,000 bottles.

Cellaring and peak: they can be enjoyed in the year following bottling to fully appreciate their youthful aromas, or a few years later, when age will have added to their complexity. Drink on its fruit until the end of 2018, then cellar; it will reach its full complexity around 2025.

Tasting: fine and elegant wines, yet with a pronounced tannic presence. Complex nose of black fruits, spices, and violet. On wines at their peak, one finds aromas of underbrush and toasted tobacco.

Food and wine pairing: a beautiful grilled meat, a leg of lamb, a duck. With older wines, there will be beautiful pairings with game. A slightly softer vintage will surprise with freshwater fish.

Wine made from grapes grown in organic farming, Certified by ECOCERT.