Clusel Roch (new)
Clusel-Roch
Verenay, Côte Rôtie, France
Guillaume Clusel
The first time you set your eyes on the hills of Côte Rôtie, it is impossible not be overwhelmed with their beauty. The cliff-like granite hillsides seem to have burst from the Earth with vigor and violence. Only the truly dedicated would decide to make their living there. No tractor on Earth can plow these vineyards – everything has to be painstakingly done by hand. This is the place that Domaine Clusel-Roch calls home.
Based in Verenay, the northernmost village in Côte Rôtie, this tiny 3.5 hectare domaine is run by Guillaume Clusel, who recently took the reins from his loving parents, Gilbert & Brigit after their retirement. His great-grandfather planted the foundation of the winery in 1935, the vineyard now known as ‘Les Grandes-Places’, using a low yielding clone of Syrah called Serine. All subsequent plantings have been selection massale from that vineyard, a rarity in the region as higher yielding material became more prevalent. The Clusel family was also early believers in the advantages of organic farming, and would become pioneers of the movement within the region as they converted fully in 1990.
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Clusel Roch became one of the first growers in the region to bottle their own wine, which took place for the first time in 1969. As Rene Clusel began managing a small parcel in Les Grandes Places lieu-dit, where the oldest vines were planted in the late 1930’s by his father Baptiste Clusel. However in 1989, Clusel-Roch was officially born, named after its owners, Gilbert Clusel and Brigitte Roch who inherited a small parcel in 1987. They began a program of massale selection in 1991. Their son, Guillaume Clusel joined the estate in 2009 after completing his studies and officially took the reins in 2021 after his parents retirement and in 2022 he partnered with Gaëlle Bonnefond, a childhood friend who started at the domaine in 2017.
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Cote Rotie
All the vineyards are in the north of the appellation, mainly around the places known as Viallière, Champon, Le Plomb, Montmain, Verenay and Grandes Places. The soil contains ferrous mica schists and the orientation is South-East. La Grandes-Places was planted in the nineteen thirties, then a part of Viallière and Champon in the nineteen sixties and the rest after 1980. The majority of our vines are planted with Syrah “selections massales” from the Grandes Places vineyard.
Condrieu
On the hillside of Chery, on a granite soil. It is south-facing. This vineyard is made up entirely of small terraces. We have almost a kilometer of retaining walls covering half a hectare. The result of this layout is that Chery accumulates considerable amounts of both heat and light.
Coteaux du Lyonnais
Located in the two communes of Millery and Grigny, near the Rhône River. The soils contain considerable amounts of moraines from glacial periods, and to a lesser extent, granite. . The orientation is South-East. This vineyard is relatively flat, as the valley here is not very steep. Containing sand and large pebbles, the soil is warm, lending itself to the perfect maturation of the Gamay
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The estate has been certified organic since 2002. Certified organic by ECOCERT; use of composted manure. The vines planted come from massale selections. Cultivation of the vines is carried out as naturally as possible. Harvest and sorting is done by hand.The half hectare of Condrieu comes from the hillsides of Chery and the Côtes-Rôties from localities like Plomb, Chapon and Viallières.
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Once arrived at the cellar, the grapes are partially destemmed then vatted by gravity. The press is an old vertical press, which is very gentle and helps give the wine additional finesse. The vinification is classic, with punch downs, pump overs and temperature control. This fermentation normally lasts two to three weeks, depending upon the vintage. Afterwards the Côte-Rôtie are put into barrels (20% new) and the Coteaux du Lyonnais into stainless steel vats.
Natural, never chaptalized, never acidified, never too oaky. They are pure, vibrant and alive. They prove that Syrah grown in its most northern boundaries can have the texture, elegance, freshness and complexity of great Pinot found in the best sites of Burgundy.
Wines
DOMAINE CLUSEL-ROCH