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
CÔTES DU RHÔNE "LES VERGERS"
100% Syrah (Serine selection massale); on average 40 year old vines. In “Le Plomb” just behind Grandes Places but technically outside the Cote-Rotie appellation. The grapes are partially de-stemmed (70%) and crushed before being put into into tanks. Fermentation is carried out by indigenous yeasts. A moderate temperature is maintained to allow for gentle extraction. The cap is punched down and juice is pumped over twice a day. After tasting the juice post-fermentation, they wait 4 weeks before removing wine from the tank. The wine is aged for 9-10 months in 4-7 year old 228L and 600L barrels.
CÔTE-RÔTIE LES SCHISTES
Over 95% Syrah from selection massale and around 5% Viognier that is co-planted. The average vine age is 20 years old from a 3.5 ha in the lieu-dits of “Viallière”, “Champon”, and “le Plomb.” The soils are ferrous mica schist. Viticulture & Vinification: Certified organic—harvest and sorting is done by hand. Grapes are put into tank by gravity, partially de-stemmed, and fermented with their indigenous yeasts. The wine is aged for 2 years in oak barrels (15% new) with no filtration before bottling.
CÔTE-RÔTIE "CHAMPON"
100% Syrah from selection massale, on average 40-60 years old. From 0.7 ha in the « Champon » lieu-dit, north of Côte-Rôtie on iron & micaschist soils. Grapes are put into tank by gravity, partially de-stemmed, and fermented with their indigenous yeasts. During vinification, the wine is pumped over and the cap is pushed down always at moderate temperature so as to allow a gentle extraction. After tasting the juice post-fermentation, they wait 3-4 weeks before transferring the wine to barrel. The wine is aged for 2 years in oak barrels (25% new), no filtration before bottling.
CÔTE-RÔTIE "VIALLIÈRE"
100% Syrah from selection massale, average age of the vines is 30 years old from a 0.6 ha in “Viallière.” The soils are iron & mica-schist. Viticulture & Vinification: Certified organic—harvest and sorting by hand. Grapes are put into tank by gravity, partially de-stemmed, and fermented with their indigenous yeasts. The extraction is purposefully gentle and the wine is aged for 2 years in oak barrels (25% new) with no filtration before bottling.
CÔTE-RÔTIE "GRANDS-PLACES"
100% Syrah from selection massale, average age of vines is 80 years old from 1 ha in the “Grandes-Places”. The soils are iron & mica-schist. Viticulture & Vinification: Certified organic—harvest and sorting by hand. Grapes are put into tank by gravity, partially de-stemmed, and fermented with their indigenous yeasts. The extraction is purposefully gentle and the wine is aged for 2 years in oak barrels (25% new) with no filtration before bottling.
CONDRIEU "VERCHERY"
100% Viognier from “selection massale”, the average age of vines is 30 years old from 0.5 ha in the “Vernon” and “Chery” lieux-dits, both on the hill of Chery in the north of the appellation. The soils are disaggregated granite which is highly permeable and very hot. Viticulture & Vinifcation: Certified organic. The majority of the wine is fermented in oak barrels with a small part in stainless steel tanks, always with the grapes’ indigenous yeasts. The wine is aged for 12 months in the same vessels as fermentation, goes thru malolactic fermentation and is lightly fined and filtered before bottling.
MAISON CLUSEL-ROCH
VIN DE FRANCE "SUR LE MONT"
Sur le Mont is a White field blend from various parcels of vines planted in Ampuis and Saint Cyr Sur le Rhone (a couple towns up the river from Ampuis) - Roussanne, Viognier, Altesse, Clairette. Guillaume is always experimenting and really liked the combination of these varieties. The grapes are pressed, followed by cold-settling. Fermentation in steel tank with indigenous yeasts, followed by malo-lactic. 1 years elevage in barrels and steel tank. Light fining & filtration before bottling.
VIN DE FRANCE "LA BERGERIE" ALIGOTE
100% Aligoté from the commune of Igé in Macon. Guillaume first purchased of grapes in 2020 from a a friend in Macon. The cuvée is a vin de France because the wines are made in Ampuis.
COTEAUX DU LYONNAIS BLANC
100% Chardonnay with a vine age of about 20 years from the south of the Coteaux du Lyonnais appellation, not far from the Rhône river, in the communes of Millery (glacial moraines and large stones) and Orliénas on gneiss. South east exposure. Relatively flat vineyards. Viticulture & Vinification: The vines are worked as naturally as possible. Hand harvested, pressed, cold-settling. Fermentation in stainless steel with natural yeasts. Malo-lactic fermentation. 6 months in stainless, light fining and filtration before bottling.
COTEAUX DU LYONNAIS TRABOULES
100% Gamay, the average age of vines is 30 years old from 3.8 ha in the south of the appellation, near the communes of Millery and Orliénas. The soils are glacial moraines and some granitic areas. Viticulture & Vinifcation: Certified organic. Harvest and sorting is done by hand. The grapes are partially de-stemmed and put into tanks with about one third whole-cluster. Fermentation is carried out by indigenous yeasts. The extraction is very gentle. The wine is aged for 6 months in stainless steel tanks.
COTEAUX DU LYONNAIS GALET
100% Gamay, the average age of vines is 40 years old from 1 ha in La Petite Gallée and Rochipel. The soils are glacial moraines and some granitic areas. Viticulture & Vinifcation: Certified organic. Harvest and sorting is done by hand. The grapes are partially de-stemmed and crushed before being put into tanks. Fermentation is carried out by indigenous yeasts. The extraction is very gentle.The wine is aged for 12 months in 2-3 year old barrels.