Sometimes when you try a wine it really hits your sweet spot. Sometimes these wines are really great bargains, and you feel really good about drinking them. I remember buying Clusel-Roch when I was at Oxford and I was deeply moved by their total elegance and refinement.
Cote-Rotie 2005, Clusel-Roch
This has astonishingly lovely blackberry fruit on the nose; pure and refined. It has a rich earthiness behind the fruit, which gives it dimension. There is a lot going on in the nose, but it never seems over-whelming. This is a nose that knows it is good. I know it is good, too, we understand each other on this front. When thinking about the nose I want to use the words sexy, svelte and silky, but I fear I may need these to describe the palate. I do, it turns out. The tannins are svelte and silky, with sophisticated, sexy layers of fruit. Real focus and purity, but there is a lot to enjoy here. This really does it for me. OK, their Grand Places named vineyard cuvee may be utterly better in all respects, but I am not drinking that now, I am drinking this, and I bloody love it.
I worked for a wine merchant that sold this ten years ago. It was a great resource to have in the shop. When someone wanted something good but didn’t have too much cash you could tell them about Clusel-Roch and you know they’d be back to buy more.
An amusing and informative note. Bravo! It makes me want to drink the wine rather than compare it to others I have had