Côte Rôtie, La Viaillère, 2016
A brilliant Viaillere, serious stuff. Powerful yet floral, sweetly-scented ripe loganberry, raspberry, damson and floral characteristics. Intense and serious but noble and elegant, such beauty and refinement. A joy. Now that Clusel-Roch's vineyards are 32-years-old they are starting to produce outstanding wine and as such Clusel Roch decided, as of the 2009 vintage, to bottle it up as a separate cuvée. The bottom of the slope still goes into the main Cote Rotie blend. Aged for around 16 months in a maximum of 15% new oak.
critic reviews
Saturated ruby. Highly perfumed dark berry, violet, smoky mineral, black cardamom and olive scents show excellent clarity and a touch of smokiness. Sweet, palate-staining blackberry and floral pastille flavors deepen slowly and take on a deeper licorice note on the back half. Rich but lively as well, finishing with firm back-end cut, fine-grained tannins and suave, impressively persistent floral and exotic spice notes.