2019 Clos de la Roilette, Fleurie “Cuvee Tardive” Cru Beaujolais, France.
One of Beaujolais’ most classic producers, the Clos de la Roilette in Fleurie, run by Alain and Alexis Coudert, is a small estate that made traditional wines of old vine concentration, texture and complexity, but that are always wonderfully delicious with a bit of raw earthiness along with the granite influenced mineral tones. This 2019 Cuvee Tardive is beautifully round and silken with pretty floral detail, dark berry fruit and hints of spice, leather and walnut wood, the opulent and ripe medium bodied palate delivers crushed blackberry, plum, strawberry and kirsch as well as touches of cinnamon, anise, rose oil and orange tea. I loved the depth of fruit and ease of drinkability here, this is a fine example of elegant and pure Gamay from Fleurie, though these vines in particular are close to Moulin A Vent and have that Cru’s influence and muscle tone, it is really enthralling now, but looks to have substance and structure to age with studied evolution and grace. The deep garnet and ruby hued Tradive is really appealing and gets more and more interesting in the glass with its pure Gamay charm bringing many happy smiles, it is a tasty treat and a top value still in a world of ever increasing demand for these Fleurie and Cru Beaujolais wines and rising prices.
The Clos de la Roillette, is in fact not a “Clos” or walled vineyard (estate) and this Cuvee Tardive, is not a later picked wine, so the label is a bit misleading, though neither takes away from the pleasure in the bottle! This wine, the Cuvée Tardive, is always crafted using the estate’s oldest vines, which are now 80 plus years old, set on the heavy clay and granite soils, again just inside the Fleurie zone with a cooler northeast exposures, which allows this wine to preserve its fresh and lively acidity. The domaine Clos de la Roilette got its name from the prior owner’s prized race horse Roilette and the iconic yellow horse label remains a big part of this estate’s identity. Clos de la Roilette has been around more than a hundred years, but it was in serious decline and most of the vines had gone feral when the Couderts took it over in 1967, and after a lot of hardwork, they turned things around and have especially flourished under the guidance of Alain, who after joining the winegrowing team in 1984 turned the property into one of the region’s most admired producers. The Cuvee Tardive is 100% whole cluster with a spontaneous native yeast primary fermentation, it is done in open-top, neutral wood vats with, as the winery notes, the cap submerged for an extended maceration, that lasts for Tardive about 18 days. The aging or elevage is on the lees in old foudres, typically it is raised about 9 months in the wood before bottling with low SO2. These Clos de la Roilette wines are very authentic and joyful offerings, and these 2019s are exceptional, especially this attractive Cuvee Tardive.
($30 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive