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Domaine Coudert Fleurie Clos De La Roilette

£19.04

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Domaine Coudert Fleurie Clos De La Roilette has a deep ruby colour with a hint of purple, thanks to the use of the traditional semi-carbonic maceration method of winemaking. A restrained nose of plums, mulberries and dark cherry fruit, with meaty elements, smoke, olives, pepper, liquorice and menthol in the mix. There’s a fascinating salty, nutty/savoury component married to forest floor and floral violet/iris notes, all tied together by lip-smacking acidity. This is a wine that ages gracefully, taking on the aromatic character of Pinot Noir as it does so. As the wine is not fined or filtered please expect a small natural sediment in the bottle.

  • Country: France
  • Region: Beaujolais
  • Subregion: Fleurie
  • Vintage: 2021
  • Colour: Red
  • Grape Variety: Gamay
  • ABV: 13%
  • Bottle Size: 75cl
  • Closure: Natural cork
  • Style: Burgundian Beaujolais
  • Drink With: Anything barbecued or red meat and poultry casseroles

Fleurie is the best known of the Beaujolais crus and perhaps the most charming. The Clos De La Roilette is named after a 19th century racehorse that was something of a legend in its day, and the Coudert family retained the name when they purchased the estate. Alain Coudert, the owner and wine-maker, is a most genial man and his personality radiates from his wine.

Although in Fleurie, the vineyard sits right next to Moulin-à-Vent and shares its neighbour's soils. As a result, this wine features greater structure and depth of flavour than one would usually expect from its appellation.

Why we like this wine

It really is the finest Fleurie we've tasted. It's got all of the floral aromas that there should be but it's a little more robust than other offerings and certainly not dilute like those wines from the bigger producers.

  • Good depth of flavour
  • Loaded with cherry and violet notes
  • A hearty Beaujolais that's built for red meat and poultry
  • Capable of ageing for a good 5 years
  • Incredible value

About the grower

The Clos De La Roilette, in the village of Fleurie, covers nine hectares of one of the best slopes in the Beaujolais Crus. The clos has an eastern exposure, it borders the Moulin-à-Vent appellation, and it produces wines that are beautiful when young and that have the capacity to age for a further 5-10 years in good vintages.

In the 1920s, when the Fleurie appellation was first created, the former landowner was infuriated at the loss of the Moulin-à-Vent appellation under which the Clos De La Roilette had previously been classified. In a fit of pique, he created a label using a photograph of his racehorse, Roilette, and he used the name Clos De La Roilette without a mention of Fleurie. The owner also vowed not to sell another drop of his wine on the French market and his entire production went to Switzerland, Germany and England.

By the mid-1960s, the owner’s heirs had lost interest in the estate and a large portion of the land had grown wild and untended. In 1967, Fernand Coudert bought the poorly maintained estate and replanted the vineyards. His son Alain joined him in 1984, and he has been the winemaker ever since. The Couderts say that their particular terroir (mainly clay and manganese-rich soils), and the age of their vines (25 to 33 years-old) account for the richness of their wine. When we were first introduced to Alain Coudert we knew immediately that this was a winemaker we could do business with. There are no new oak barrels here. In fact, the wine making is very traditional and ideally suited to the terroir in this area of Fleurie.

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