Côte-Rôtie Clusel-Roch 2000

Lot presentation

Côte-Rôtie Clusel-Roch 2000

The wine

This generic Côte-Rôtie, although not from a single parcel cuvée, is still excellent. It comes from 95% of old serines (Syrah d’Ampuis), and some vines of Viognier planted together, i.e. blended and harvested at the same plot. The age of the vines ranges from 10 to 60 years old, and the wine also benefits from two-year ageing in barriques. It can be kept for several years but is usually prone to being enjoyed when young. Côte-Rôtie is refined and elegant, with aromas of black fruit, spices and violet.

Domaine Clusel-Roch's farming heritage goes back decades, before Rhône crus even became a force in the wine world, but until the 1980s it did not produce the renowned Côte-Rôtie wines that it produces today. Gilbert Clusel arrived at the domaine after completing his studies and worked tirelessly, clearing and revitalising the old abandoned vines. In the 1990s saw the domaine transform. Massal Selection (replanting new vineyards with cuttings from exceptional old vines), the omission of chemical products and the construction of a new winery all contributed to the domain's transformation. Gilbert and Brigitte then obtained organic certification in 2002, an impressive feat at a time when not much Côte-Rôtie was organic: the steep slopes in this area make it difficult to cultivate the vineyards organically.
Gilbert and Brigitte's son Guillaume joined the estate in 2009 and today, he is more or less responsible for the running of the domaine. After Côte-Rôtie and Condrieu, he introduced a third appellation to the domaine's portfolio, the AOC Coteaux du Lyonnais