A Horse You Can Ride: Rare & Iconic Beaujolais!
Posted on: 01/24/19 7:47 PM
If you love Beaujolais, we don’t know how much sexier this can possibly be. Honestly. Two critically acclaimed vintages of two of the rarest bottles from one of Beaujolais’ most beloved and iconic producers. Few wines of France elicit as much devotion as those of Alain Coudert of Fleurie Clos de Roilette fame. We sell out of every bottle we can get. Now we just received his two most precious bottlings: the 2017 cuvée Tardive and, even more special, the hugely rare 2016 “Griffe du Marquis”. Lordy! And just to make things even more outrageous (because this is Gordon’s after all), we are offering both in crazy rare magnum as well. This is truly bonkers extraordinarily rare juice. Come and get it while you can!
2017 Clos de la Roilette Fleurie “Cuvée Tardive”
“The 2017 Fleurie Cuvée Tardive reveals a deeper, richer bouquet of dark cherries, red fruit compote, quince and rose petal. On the palate, it’s full-bodied, ample and lavish, with a deep, concentrated core and rich structuring tannins. This is a decidedly serious Fleurie, its name alluding to its aging potential and not to a later harvest, and it will demand 3 or 4 years of cellaring at a minimum.” 93 Points, Wine Advocate
2016 Clos de la Roilette Fleurie “Griffe du Marquis”
“The 2016 Griffe du Marquis bottling was really showing beautifully at the time of my visit. The concentrated, sappy aspect to the fruit of the 2016 vintage here has absolutely devoured the oak impression of the wine and this characteristic augurs very, very well for the evolution of this fine young wine! The nose jumps from the glass in a vibrant blend of sweet cassis, black cherries, raw cocoa, gamebird, a lovely base of soil tones, a nice touch of vanillin oak and a pungent top-note of violets. On the palate the wine is pure, full and quite primary, but with lovely sappiness at the core, plenty of soil signature, fine-grained, seamless tannins and excellent length and grip on the perfectly balanced and youthfully complex finish. This is going to be excellent as well.” 93 Points, John Gilman
More About the Wine
While many of you are already deeply familiar with Clos de la Roilette’s sublime entry-level Beaujolais (we sell out every year), few have been lucky to experience these two collectable beauties. Roilette’s Cuvée Tardive is dense, sweet, meaty and dark–Mr. Coudert’s rapturous expression of Beaujolais of anti-nouveau. Born from two parcels that are at least eighty years old, situated between Fleurie and Moulin-a-vent, Coudert’s Tardive is indisputably one of Beaujolais most age-worthy bottles.
By far the smallest production of all Roilette wines, the Griffe du Marquis is born from the same parcels as the Tardive but is aged in 2 to 8 year old barrique Burgundy barrels. Why does Coudert do this? The aging in barrique allows for more oxygen exchange, ultimately producing a wine that is ready sooner than his Cuvée Tardive. Always beautifully rich, appealingly sweet, impeccably focused, this wine remains hedonistically reserved and walks the fine line between too much and not enough.
It is important not to forget that 2016 and 2017 are critically acclaimed and hugely important vintages for Beaujolais. 2016 is one of classical charm and vivid energy, while 2017, similar to 2015, is one of rich power and intoxicating fruit. That should speak for itself on how good these bottles will be.
Don’t miss this amazing opportunity to own these spectacular rare wines!
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