2022 Domaine Clusel-Roch Côte-Rôtie Le Champon

Rocking red and black fruits, smoked meats, hints of flowers, and iron all emerge from the 2022 Côte Rôtie Le Champon. Medium to full-bodied, with fine tannins, a great mid-palate, and building structure on the finish, this is a serious wine that will benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age and keep for a solid decade or more. Drink 2027-2037. ?Based in Verenay, Clusel-Roch farms approximately 5.5 hectares in Côte Rôtie, with vineyards concentrated in the northern part of the appellation. Their holdings include parcels in Les Grandes Places, La Viallière, Le Champon, Le Plomb, and Montmain. The Côte Rôtie Les Schistes cuvée accounts for roughly 80% of the estate's production and is sourced primarily from Viallière, with contributions from Le Champon, Le Plomb, and Verenay. The Les Grandes Places parcel, planted in 1935 by Baptiste Clusel, is the estate's oldest vineyard and is used exclusively for their single-vineyard bottling of the same name. Made entirely from Serine, an old clone of Syrah, it is aged for approximately two years in a mix of new and used barrels. The winemaking here is uncompromisingly traditional, with fermentation in concrete and stainless steel, partial destemming, and élevage mostly in used oak. These are beautiful, classic wines.