Wine Advisor
Clusel Roch, Cote Rotie Les Grandes Places 2022
View analysis
Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Yohan Castaing
Pure and delicate, the 2022 Cote Rotie les Grandes Places reveals a dense, complex bouquet of violets, mulberries, licorice and spices mingled with delicate notes of chocolate, suggesting a ripe profile. Full-bodied, precise and tense, it has a firm, concentrated core of fruit, with a crystalline texture and fine-grained tannins, culminating in a long, ethereal and delicately peppery finish. This powerful, chiseled Côte Rôtie, hailing from old vines planted in the schist soils of the appellation’s upper southeastern reaches, was fermented with 20% destemmed Syrah, 30% whole bunches and 50% crushed whole bunches and then matured for two years in a mix of used barrels. It stands as one of the top wines of the vintage.
About the Producer
Guillaume Clusel is the man behind a uniquely elegant style of Côte-Rôtie. In an area of the Rhône valley associated with powerful red wines, his Syrah is graceful and refined. The secret is his attention to detail. Guillaume picks early and by hand and uses around 30% whole bunch fruit in many of his cuvées. He has farmed his 20 hectares of vineyards organically since 2002, and alongside his coveted Côte-Rôtie vineyards, also grows Viognier on the terraced slopes of the hills of Condrieu, plus Chardonnay and Gamay in the warm, pebbled soils of the Côteaux du Lyonnais. Guillaume took over the domaine from his parents, Gilbert Clusel and Brigitte Roch, who put the estate on the map during the 90s when they invested significantly in the vineyards and the cellar. His signature wine, Les Schistes, is a classic Côte-Rôtie blend with a dash of Viognier bringing a floral lift to the Syrah and named after the south-east facing soils of his Northern Rhône vineyards.
