SOLD OUT! Year in and year out, Clos de la Roilette produces one of my favorite red wines, and the new release is as good as ever.
I drank my first bottle of the new vintage just last week, and all I can say is that I’m absolutely in love with this wine. It’s charming, it’s joyful, it loves the flavors and the feel of fall, and it’s our new Wine of the Weeks. All I can say is come and get some before I drink it all!
2013 Clos de la Roilette Fleurie
Big, bold, powerful Cru Beaujolais from one of my favorite producers!
SOLD OUT
Let’s get one thing straight, this is about as close to Beaujolais Nouveau as wild salmon is to fish sticks. Don’t get me wrong, I love good Nouveau, but this is not that. Alain Coudert’s vineyards are old and situated on east-facing slopes on the border with Moulin-a-Vent.
In the 1920’s when the Fleurie appellation was created, the previous owner was infuriated with losing the Moulin-a-Vent designation, under which his vineyards had previously been designated. He created a label, using a photo of his racehorse Roilette, and used the name Clos de la Roilette, without making any mention of Fleurie. He refused to sell any of his wine to the French market and sold his entire production to Switzerland and Germany. True story and it’s a good one, but it gets better.
By the mid 1960’s the original owner’s heirs had lost interest in the property, and the vineyards were in a terrible state. In 1967, Francois Coudert bought the estate and replanted the vineyards. His son Alain joined him in 1984, and Alain remains in charge today. It is under his watch that Roilette has established itself as one of the finest estates in all of Beaujolais.
Both father and son agree that their terroir combined with their old vines account for the power and richness of their vines. Nearly purple in color, this is a darker fruited Cru Beaujolais that displays ripe notes of black cherry, creme de cassis, damp earth, and mineral. Yet, despite the wines fullness, this one remains light on its feet.
It also ages incredibly well — with 5 to 7 years, it begins to taste kind of like a really good Red Burgundy. Feel free to “fact check” me on this one, as I don’t make this stuff up. This is the perfect wine for those who love Pinot Noir/Burgundy, but don’t love to pay the exorbitant prices that those wines often demand.
Josh Spurling
Owner, Operator, Wine Monger
Table Wine Asheville