Clos de la Roilette ‘Cuvée Christie’ Fleurie Rouge 2022
Location: France, Beaujolais, Fleurie
Winemaker: Alain Coudert
Grapes: Gamay
Soil: Granite
Winemaking: Organic farming. Hand harvest. Semi-carbonic, and this sees 10 days maceration with native yeast. Aging is in large oak foudres for 9 months.
From the Importer Louis/Dressner: Roilette was the name of the prior owner's prized race horse. Despite the name, Clos de la Roilette is in no way a clos. The vines are on the border of Moulin-à-Vent and have a similar structure to that cru compared to most Fleurie.
The Clos de la Roilette, a lieu-dit in the village of Fleurie, covers nine hectares of one of the best slopes in the Beaujolais Crus. The clos has an eastern exposure, borders the Moulin-à-Vent appellation, and produces wines that are beautiful when young and have the capacity to age 5-10 years, depending on the vintage.
In the 1920’s, when the Fleurie appellation was first created, the former landowner was infuriated with losing the Moulin-à-Vent appellation under which the clos had previously been classified. He created a label, using a photograph of his racehorse Roilette, and used the name Clos de la Roilette without mentioning Fleurie. The owner vowed not to sell a drop of his wine on the French market and the production went to Switzerland, Germany and England.
By the mid-1960s, the owner’s heirs had lost interest in the clos and a large portion of the land had gone wild and untended. In 1967, Fernand Coudert bought this poorly maintained estate and replanted the vineyards. His son Alain joined him in 1984, and has been the winemaker since.
The Couderts say their particular terroir (mainly clay and manganese), and the age of their vines account for the richness of their wine. It has a deep blackcurrant color with a hint of purple, a restrained nose of crème de cassis, a rich, full mouth with aromas of cassis, black cherries, and a nutty character, and finishes with zesty acidity. This is a wine that ages gracefully and takes on the aromatic character of a Pinot Noir.